The Hardest Part
by princessjasmine12
Summary: What is it like to teach the person you love the most how to love you again? What if you find out that after one disastrous night, she forgets all about you? Is it enough to tear the two of you apart? Or is your love for each other stronger than that?
1. Chapter 1

**I read another story, Beside You by Shookenup (all of you should go check it out, it's awesome!) and I absolutely fell in love with the storyline. I decided to write my own little story of a similar scenario to a certain part of her story. I hope you guys like it! **

***Which POV do you guys like best? Aria's or Ezra's? In my other stories, I alternate between both, but I'll try to write more in the POV you guys like better… so let me know if you guys like my writing in Ezra's POV or Aria's POV better, and I'll write most of the story in that one! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. **

Aria's POV

"Hanna! Give me the shoes back!" I screamed as Emily and I chased after Hanna into the forest behind Emily's backyard.

Hanna, Emily, and I had secretly met up at Emily's house to plan what to get Spencer for her birthday. I had brought with me a pair of shoes I had seen at the mall the day before that screamed Spencer Hastings. As soon as I saw them, I knew I had to buy them for her. Emily still was undecided on what to get her. Hanna had bought her a book on how to prepare for college, as a joke, and a charm bracelet.

To my surprise, immediately after picking them up out of the shopping bag at Emily's house, a loud scream escaped Hanna's lips and she lunged for the shoes.

"Those are _ adorable." _She exclaimed, never once removing her eyes from the gold platforms. Hanna spent the next five minutes gushing over the shoes, while Emily and I kept rolling our eyes at her.

As soon as I turned my back from Hanna and the shoes I heard a rustling. I turned back to the girls, but Hanna and Emily, along with the shoes, were gone.

And here Emily and I were, chasing Hanna through a dark forest, in an attempt to get the shoes back.

"Hanna!" Emily called out, her voice echoing through the tall trees.

A crunching of leaves, and then silence, was all that was heard.

"It came from over there!" I exclaimed, as I ran deeper into the forest, towards the sound. My breathing came quicker as I ran faster and faster, looking everywhere and anywhere for a speck of bright pink from the sweater Hanna had been wearing.

"She's not here." Emily ran up behind me, frantically looking around the dark trees.

"Here, why don't you go that way," I pointed to my left. "And I'll search over there?" I pointed towards my right.

Emily nodded in agreement, before running off into the depths of the trees.

"Hanna?" I called again as I started walking in the opposite direction of Emily. I whipped my head around as soon as I heard a crunch come from somewhere ahead of me.

"Hanna?" I called, as I moved a branch out of my path so it would not hit me.

I stopped moving when I heard no answer.

All of a sudden, I heard another rustle of leaves come from behind me. Someone was definitely there. My breathing started getting faster and I felt my palms getting sweaty. Hanna was really playing a great game.

"Hanna, seriously! Fine! You can keep the shoes! Can we just get out of here?" I hollered into the forest ahead of me.

I shook my head, as I got no response.

"Ew." I muttered, as I stepped over a large pile of wet orange leaves, trying my hardest to make sure that I did not get my boots soaking wet. I let out a sigh as I looked around the forest again. A glimpse of movement caught my eye. I squinted my eyes in an effort to see whatever it was, better. However, whatever or whoever it was, had disappeared as quickly as they had came.

I followed the path I had taken into the forest as I headed out of the dark woods.

I had given up. Hanna had won. I shook my head at the nonsense of the whole incident. Obviously it had been wrong of me to believe that Hanna would not get what she wanted. She was Hanna Marin, after all.

I trudged back through the damp forest, stepping over wet piles of colorful leaves, and moving branches out of my path.

All of a sudden, I felt a strong impact to my head. I sucked in a breath, as immense pain radiated throughout my body. A soft moan of pain escaped my lips as everything around me started spinning and becoming a blur. I let out another moan as my eyes slowly started closing. Before I knew it, my body crumpled to the ground and everything went black.

Ezra's POV 

I let out a sigh as I finished reading the last sentence of the essay in my hands. I had assigned one of my classes to compose an essay on a theme of their choice on the latest novel we were reading. Clearly, however, I did not make myself clear enough, for the paper in my hands was about death, a theme that did not occur even once in the story. Although she had written a very good paper, she completely missed the goal of the assignment. After writing a big C on the top of the paper, I set it aside. I picked up my coffee mug and took a large sip.

I glanced at the time on my phone: 6:48. Aria had said she wanted to come over at seven, meaning I had just enough time to finish grading the last three essays.

I opened up a new text message and quickly composed a message to Aria.

**Can't wait to see my beautiful girl tonight! –E**

Smiling to myself, I pressed send and leaned back in my chair.

We had been planning to come out to her parents, but the timing just never was right. After talking with Ella the night Aria and her friends were taken to the police station, I had begun to have fears about Ella and Byron's reaction to my relationship with Aria. It had been a few weeks since that night, but every time the chance came up to reveal our relationship, something or someone got in our way.

Hanna's POV 

"Good! Because they're mine now!" I laughed loudly into the air as I skidded to a halt across the piles of leaves. I bent down, putting my hands on my knees as I regained my breath. After a moment, I decided that it was time to go back. Stepping through the piles of dirt and leaves, I followed the path I had taken on the way to the spot I had ended up in.

I let out a small shriek and held the shoes tighter in my right hand as I heard a crunch of leaves come from behind me. I whipped my body around as I looked for the person who made the noise. Upon seeing no one, I continued walking, much slower this time. I jumped as I felt something lightly touch my hair, causing my hand to quickly fly to the top of my head. I shook my head as I removed the bright red leaf from my blonde hair.

"Aria? Emily?" I called, as I walked closer towards the edge of the forest.

"Hanna!" I heard a voice exclaim. I quickly ran towards it, before I was almost knocked backwards from the impact of running into another body. I pulled the loose strands of hair that had stuck to my lip-gloss away from my lips. I looked up and was met with the face of Emily. The look of relief on her face quickly turned to that of panic, as she asked, "Where's Aria?"

"I thought she was with you." I shrugged. "You two _ were _trying to chase me, after all."

"Yeah but we split up looking for you!" She exclaimed.

"Aria!" I called out, as I cupped my hands around my mouth.

No answer.

"Aria!" Emily screamed.

Emily and I shared a look of panic when the next minute passed with no response.

"What should we do?" I asked frantically.

"Go back in there!" Emily cried, as she sprinted back into the forest.

I carefully set the shoes down on the table of the patio set, not wanting the beautiful shoes to get dirty, before making a mad dash behind Emily.

"There's her footprints." Emily breathed.

I scrunched my eyebrows together and put my hands on my hips. "How do you know those aren't mine?"

"Because they're about the size of my hand." Emily looked at me in disbelief, referring to Aria's small size, before walking deeper into the forest.

"Yeah, okay." I rolled my eyes at her as I followed her, making sure not to step into any piles of leaves.

"There's her phone!" Emily cried a moment later, as she bent down to retrieve the phone from the dirt. "And there's… footsteps!"

She quickly stood up and shoved the phone into my hands, before following the footsteps and not once looking back.

I clicked a button and the screen of Aria's phone lit up. My heartbeat sped up as a text from Fitz was shown on the screen.

I let out a small laugh and looked at the phone mischievously. They could never keep away from each other, and I had to admit, their relationship was, in one word, _ hot. _If Aria weren't dating Mr. Fitz, I would totally take him.

I could not stop myself from opening up the text.

"Can't wait to see my beautiful girl tonight! –E" It read.

"Aww." I cooed. They were just so damn cute!

All of a sudden, I heard a blood curdling scream come from somewhere ahead of me. I almost dropped the phone in my hands as I ran towards the direction of where the voice had come from.

"Emily?" I yelled, as I saw Emily's body curled over something on the ground.

"Emily!" I cried out, as I ran towards her.

I let out a scream at the sight in front of me. There Aria was, lying on the ground, her body sprawled out on the dirt floor. Her mouth was slightly agape, and a little bit of blood had trickled down her forehead.

"Oh my God!" I cried, as I bent down beside Emily. "Aria! Aria!" I shook her shoulder viciously, in an attempt to wake her up.

I tried to control my shaking body as I watched Emily place two fingers on Aria's neck, in an effort to try to detect a pulse.

"It's barely there!" She breathed heavily, as she grabbed Aria's phone from my hands.

Suddenly, she stopped moving. "Why were you going through Aria's texts?"

I opened my mouth to respond, but no words came out. "Well…"

"Oh, just forget it!" Emily exclaimed, before quickly dialing a number. "Call Aria's parents and tell them to meet us at the hospital. I'll call an ambulance!"

I nodded and quickly did as I was told.

"Should we leave her here and just wait here, or try and move her body back to the backyard?" I asked, turning back to Emily.

…PLL…

Ezra's POV

I frowned as I looked at the time again. Aria was supposed to be here twenty minutes ago. She never had replied to the text I had sent her earlier either.

I shook my head. I was just overreacting and being my overprotective self. I had every reason to worry, though, right? It was my job to make sure that Aria was always safe. I knew she depended on me, since she always came to me for advice and comfort when she was hurting.

My cell phone rang a moment later, indicating a text. I jumped up from the chair I was sitting on and quickly snatched the phone up from the coffee table. My heart skipped a beat as I saw the sender of the message: Aria. Smiling widely, I quickly opened up the message. However, the smile on my face quickly disappeared as my brain processed the words on the small screen in front of me.

**Ezra, it's Hanna. Aria's hurt and is being taken to the hospital. Meet us there, I know she would want you there. **

I wordlessly stared at the text for a moment, before I grabbed my coat and headed out the door. Was she okay? How badly was she hurt? Why hadn't Hanna said anything more?

Suddenly, another thought struck me. What were Aria's parents going to say when they saw me at the hospital with them? Surely they would wonder why I was freaking out about a former student being in the hospital! I shook my head. At this point, I really didn't care. All I cared about was Aria, and that she was going to be okay.

**This is kind of like the prologue to set up everything for the rest of the story. Let me know if you guys want me to continue this! If you do, would you guys want it to be just Ezra that she doesn't remember, or other people too? Hope you liked this and PLEASE REVIEW! If I get enough reviews, then I'll continue this! If not, then I won't! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you so much for your reviews! I'm so glad you guys liked this: Beth, PrettyLittleBethany, Sherbertshelby11, GoingDownWithThisShip, Pretty,Little,Lindsay, SolitudeMyLove, anon, love ezria, HarrylovesGinny09, Anonymous, Shookenup, mdbballbabe23, and crazyatbest! You are all so sweet! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. **

Ezra's POV 

This was all my fault. If only I had told Aria to come over an hour earlier, none of this would have happened and we would be sitting at my apartment having dinner, talking, and having a great time being with each other! Instead, I was rushing to the hospital to see Aria.

As soon as I arrived at the hospital, I jumped out of my car and headed towards the doors.

"Mr. Fitz!" A voice exclaimed.

I turned around to see Spencer Hastings running up to me. "You heard?"

I nodded as we quickly walked through the sliding doors of the hospital.

Spencer rushed over to the blonde receptionist sitting at the counter, before blurting out, "What room is Aria Montgomery in?"

"Um… 211." She flipped through a clipboard in front of her, finding the recording of Aria's room. "Wait, you should-" She began, but Spencer and I had already made a mad dash for Aria's room.

"Do you know what happened?" I asked quickly, as we turned a corner.

"No idea. She was in the woods with Hanna and Emily, and they got separated, and when Emily and Hanna finally found Aria, she was unconscious on the floor!" Spencer cried.

My mind started spinning. What in the world had happened to Aria? What the hell was she doing in the woods anyway? How did she hurt herself? Or did someone else hurt her?

"Spencer, are you okay," I bit my lip as I hesitated. "With Aria and I being together?"

I desperately wanted to know what her friends thought about our relationship. Did they think I was a pedophile going after Aria because she was beautiful, or did they actually accept us being together?

She let out a quiet laugh before responding. "Yeah. You make Aria really happy and I know that you two love each other. It is a little weird, since you used to by my teacher, but-"

"So it's true." I heard a voice come from behind me, interrupting Spencer. Spencer and I whipped our heads around to see Ella, standing a few feet away from us with her hands on her hip. Her lips were pursed into a thin line and her face was full of disbelief and disappointment.

"What happened? Is Aria okay?" Spencer asked frantically, worry lines all over her face.

"She hasn't woken up yet." Ella shook her head. "They said she should be okay though… Nothing too traumatic. Although… they found out that it was a blow to her head that knocked her unconscious."

"Thank God she's okay." I sighed. My eyes widened as I realized what I had just said. "I mean, I was just worried-"

I tried covering up my slip of caring a little _ too much _about Aria, but Ella cut me off.

"Is there something you two would like to tell me?" Ella said, not taking her eyes off of me.

Did Ella know about Aria and I? Did she know that Spencer knew about us too? Was she going to kill us for keeping this secret from her?

"What are you talking about?" Spencer asked, furrowing her brows at Aria's mother.

Ella took a deep breath and closed her eyes, before speaking again.

"I know that you two are together." Ella stated, never once taking her eyes off of me.

"_What?_" Spencer and I exclaimed in unison, looking at Ella in disbelief. What in the world was she talking about? What would make her assume that I was dating Spencer? Not that there was anything wrong with Spencer, but still…

"Don't lie to me, I already know." Ella shook her head at us.

"Mrs. Montgomery, what are you talking ab-" Spencer began, but stopped abruptly. Her face lit up with realization and her mouth opened slightly as she realized something that I did not.

"She went too far. The least the girl could have done was admit that you were wrong." Spencer shook her head at Ella.

"What are you talking about?" Ella furrowed her eyebrows at Spencer, tapping her foot against the floor as she impatiently waited for an explanation.

"Aria told me that you thought I was dating Mr. Fitz and-" Spencer began, but was interrupted by Ella again.

"But clearly she lied to protect the two of you." Ella shook her head at us.

My eyes darted back and forth between Spencer and Ella. What the heck was going on?

"Ella, I'm not dating Spencer." I looked at her in disbelief.

"Don't lie to me to protect your relationship."

Was I going to have to blurt out the truth right then and there? I was not ready to tell Aria's parents about us, especially without Aria by my side!

"Mrs. Montgomery, I love Toby. I'm sure you knew that. No offense to Mr. Fitz, he's a nice guy, but I wouldn't date my teacher." Spencer tried to reason with Ella.

"Then what were you doing a few weeks back with him in his car?" Ella asked Spencer quietly.

Spencer furrowed her eyebrows at the question, but nodded as she realized what Ella was talking about. "I needed to talk to him about an essay I never got back." She lied.

Clearly, this situation had gotten so messed up.

"But, Mrs. Montgomery, what happened to Aria?" Spencer asked frantically.

Ella waited a moment before answering. "She had a concussion. Apparently she was hit on the head with something, no one knows what, and was knocked unconscious."

"Is she going to be okay?" I asked worriedly.

"I hope." Ella sighed.

I opened my mouth to speak again, but I stopped abruptly when a nurse came out of Aria's room with a clipboard in hand.

"Mrs. Montgomery, Aria should be waking up soon." She informed us.

Ella quickly reached for the door handle of Aria's room, before the nurse stopped her.

"I need to talk to you for a moment. We took some images of Aria's brain to determine the level of the concussion… Due to the severity of the concussion, there is a possibility that she is not going to remember certain things or people in her life."

I noticed Ella's eyes begin to water as the nurse was talking. "My poor baby." She whispered, before taking a deep breath as she tried to control her emotions.

Ella took one last look at Spencer and I, before going back into Aria's room.

Spencer and I shared a look, before following Ella into Aria's room.

I felt a pang in my chest as I saw Aria, her petite body lying on the white hospital bed. There was a large gash against her head and her hair was sprawled out all over the pillow. Her body was covered in a light blanket of dirt; Hanna had said she had fallen on the forest floor.

"Aria." I croaked, my voice cracking at the heartbreaking sight of her. I had to stop myself from going over to her and taking her hand in mine. She looked so fragile, so _ broken. _ It hurt me so much to see her lying there, and not be able to do anything about it. I felt my eyes begin to get moist, so I started blinking rapidly, in an effort to hold back the tears.

"I'm so sorry, Aria." I whispered, not taking my eyes off of her.

Spencer must have seen the look in my eyes, for she grabbed my wrist, as a reminder that I should not do anything too revealing about my relationship with Aria.

"Ezra? What are you doing here?" I heard Byron ask. I turned to see him sitting next to Mike in a corner of the room.

"I heard about Aria and…" I glanced at Spencer, who was watching me carefully. "I wanted to make sure she was okay."

"That was nice of you." Byron nodded. "You didn't have to."

"I wanted to." _I had to. _

I turned back to Aria. Slowly, I started making my way closer to the bed, silently praying that she would wake up.

Emily and Hanna burst into the room a moment later, and quickly came over to Aria's bed. Both of their faces portrayed extreme worry and desperation.

Aria's POV 

My head was pounding. I heard some voices that I could not place, speaking in hushed tones. I strained my ears to hear the words spilling from their mouths, but I could not understand anything they were saying.

My body hurt. I slowly tried curling my fingers and after a few seconds, I was able to make a fist. I relaxed my hand as I slowly began to open my eyes. Bright light filled my vision, and I quickly shut my eyes tightly.

"She's awake!" I vaguely heard a voice exclaim. I heard some movement and a pair of feet shuffling against the floor.

I tried opening my eyes again, slower this time, as my eyes adjusted to the bright white light. The walls around me were bare and painted a dull white color. Where was I? I remembered that the walls in my bedroom were painted yellow.

I slowly looked down, to see my body curled up in white sheets and a white bed as I realized that I was in a hospital room. As I looked up, I saw a few people who were standing in the room with me, all who were intently watching me. My brain tried to process the identity of each person as my eyes gazed over him or her. There was Hanna, standing in the corner of the room huddled with Spencer and Emily, who were all watching me curiously. Standing next to them was an attractive man I could not identify. He had dark hair, almost the same shade as mine, and bright blue eyes. I could not help but notice that he was watching me worriedly.

Standing next to the man was my mother and father, who also had strange looks on their faces as they watched me. And finally, I spotted my little brother Mike, sitting down on a chair near my parents.

"Aria." My mom whispered. "How do you feel?"

I looked at her for a moment, before answering. "Strange. And tired. My body hurts."

"Oh honey." Ella took my hand in hers as my father sat down on my bed next to me.

"What happened?" I asked slowly as I put my hand on my forehead. I could feel the pounding in my head through my hand. I let out a small moan at the pain.

Byron and Ella shared a look before Ella answered me.

"You hit your head baby. It gave you a concussion." She answered sadly.

I looked at the girls in the corner of the room again. There was Hanna, Emily, and Spencer. No wonder something did not feel right. Ali was missing.

"Where's Ali?" I asked tiredly, looking at my mom in confusion.

Her eyes widened at my question and I heard a gasp come from Hanna, Spencer, and Emily in the corner of the room.

"Y-you don't remember?" Byron slowly asked me.

I slowly shook my head at him in response to his question. What was going on? What was I not remembering? Where was Ali?

"Who are you?" I asked, turning back to the blue-eyed man.

His eyes widened and I was able to detect offense in his expression at my question. He opened his mouth to speak, but changed his mind as he closed it again.

Confusion and hurt lit up every feature of his face. I could not help but feel a little bad that I did not know who he was, because clearly, he was disappointed that I could not remember him.

I wracked my brain for a memory of this man, but came up blank. Obviously, he had no importance to me, if I could not even remember his name, right?

"Aria, this is Mr. Fitz, your old English teacher." Ella explained, gesturing to the man.

I looked at him in confusion. Why would my English teacher be visiting me in the hospital? What was he doing here? Did he do this for all his students?

I nodded at him, confirming that I understood, before looking around the room again. Everything was so bright. Each person was still watching me with looks of concern on their faces.

"Guys, I'm fine. Why are you all worrying?" I bit my lip, afraid that something was wrong.

Ella shook her head and instead of replying, asked me, "Do you want some water or something?"

I nodded, as I watched my mother and father leave the room. After a moment, Mike followed them out of the room. The three girls and Mr. Fitz stood before me, watching me.

"Aria…" Mr. Fitz softly said as he sat down next to me on the right side of my bed. I looked up at him curiously. What did he want? Was he here to give me homework while I was in the hospital? What kind of teacher would do that? Wasn't the most important thing right now for me to get better?

To my utter surprise, he slowly took one of my hands in his. However, I immediately pulled my hand back, away from his touch.

What was going on? Why did he just do that? Didn't my mom just say he was my English teacher?

"What are you doing?" I asked him, confusion written all over my face. "Why are you here?"

A look of immense pain crossed his face as he got up from the bed. I watched him in confusion as he ran a hand through his dark hair in a frustrated manner.

As the three girls watched him, I was able to detect sorrow on their faces.

"What's wrong?" I asked them, worry entering my voice.

"Y-you don't remember me?" Mr. Fitz asked, turning back to me with sadness traced all over his eyes.

"My mom said that you're my English teacher, right?" I asked quietly.

What was going on? Why was it so bad that I could not remember Mr. Fitz? Why was everyone so worried? And where was Ali?

"Where's Ali?" I asked, looking around the room once again.

"Aria, Ali's d-" Hanna began, but Spencer slapped her shoulder.

"Ow!" Hanna screamed out in pain. "What the hell was that for?"

Spencer quietly muttered something to Hanna, and I was able to make out the words _Ali, alive, and forgot. _

"What was going on? Why won't you tell me where Ali is?" I asked again for what felt like the hundredth time, as I felt my eyes welling up with tears. Why wasn't anyone telling me anything?

"And why are you here? Where are my other teachers?" I asked Mr. Fitz.

Mr. Fitz shook his head at me and said nothing. I noticed that his eyes were red and wet, as if he was holding back tears. He looked exhausted and as if he had just had his heart broken.

I felt the tears slowly fall down my cheeks as I watched Mr. Fitz. I could not help but feel sorry for him. Obviously there was something hurting him, I just had no idea what.

**Hope you guys enjoyed this and don't forget to check out my other stories if you haven't already! PLEASE REVIEW! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you so much for your reviews! : EzriaAddicted, love ezria, HarrylovesGinny09, Shookenup, bite-me-im-irish, CrazyLove345, PrettyLittleBethany, nightmares,and,dreamers, SolitudeMyLove, and crazyatbest! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. **

Ezra's POV

As soon as Aria asked me who I was, I left the room. This was way too much for me to handle all at once.

There was no way that this was really happening. This had to be a dream. This was too much of a nightmare to actually be true.

Aria did not know who I was. She could not remember me at all. Nothing. Not as Mr. Fitz, standing at the front of her English classroom teaching her about The Great Gatsby, nor as Ezra, kissing her soft lips in the woods at Mona's birthday party, as we fell deeper and deeper in love with each other. Not even as a Montgomery family friend, coming over for Ella and Byron's dinner parties.

"Are you okay?" I heard a voice quietly ask, causing me to lift my head from my hands.

Spencer was standing in front of me with a sympathetic look on her face.

I said nothing, as she sat down in the chair beside me.

"It's going to be okay, Mr. Fitz." She said softly.

"She doesn't remember me… at all. Nothing. It's like," I paused, searching for the right words. "Like we've never met before. As if it was all a dream… or a lie."

Every kiss, every touch, every word to each other, was all in the past. For Aria, none of it held, as of today. For me, they were memories, all the moments I have spent with Aria, but for her, they were nothing… times that never existed.

"Are you going to tell her parents about the two of you?" Spencer asked curiously.

I looked at her, unsure of my answer. "I don't know." I said quietly, looking into her eyes.

She nodded at me, understanding my confliction of the situation. Now was not the right time to tell Aria's parents about us, especially since we were in a hospital, and since Aria was recovering from a concussion. But if Ella and Byron did know about my relationship with Aria, then they would understand the real reason I came here tonight. They would realize that they were not the only ones having to deal with this. They would realize how much I really did care for Aria, and that she was so much more than a student to me.

"What if they don't accept our relationship?" I asked suddenly. "What if they say that I have to stay away from her and that I can't see her anymore?"

I do not know how I would be able to go day-by-day, unable to be with Aria. It was one thing that she did not remember me, but it was another if I was never allowed to see her again.

I had to find a way to get her to remember me again. I do not know what it was going to take, but I was determined to help Aria get her memories of me back.

I knew that the connection and love for each other that Aria and I had, is just to special and important to carelessly throw it all away, after everything we have been through, just because she was in an accident. Our love was otherworldly, and once in a lifetime, and giving that up all because of one disastrous night, would be like throwing our whole relationship away. It would be like saying that all the hiding and sneaking around, all the fights and make-ups, all the kisses, were meaningless. There was no possible way that I was going to give up on my relationship with Aria.

For the first time since I began this conversation with Spencer, I looked at her, really truly looked at her. I had to admit, I was glad she was here. Out of Aria's friends, Spencer was the one who, besides Aria, I was able to relate to the most. Spencer understood the complexity of my relationship with Aria. I knew just from the words she chose to use as she spoke to me, and her body language, that she knew how hard this was for me.

"Thank you, Spencer." I said softly. "For being here."

"No problem." She gave me a small smiled.

…PLL…

Aria's POV 

"So what happened to me, exactly?" I asked Hanna and Emily, who were standing next to my hospital bed.

Emily let out a huge sigh as she sat down in the chair beside my bed. "Well, Spencer's birthday is tomorrow, so you, me, and Hanna, stayed at my house last night to wrap Spencer's presents together. You got her a pair of shoes and our friend Hanna over here," She gave Hanna a glare. "Decided it would be a good idea to steal the shoes. She ran outside into the forest behind my backyard and you and I chased after her. We split up, and before we knew it, Hanna and I found you lying unconscious on the ground."

"Wow…" I said quietly, as I pondered all of this. "Do you know… what happened to me?"

Both girls shook their head.

"So Spencer obviously wasn't with us, but where was Ali? Was she there too?" I asked, furrowing my eyebrows in confusion.

Emily and Hanna shared a look before turning back to me.

"Aria-" Emily began, but could not find the words she wanted to use.

Why was it so difficult for them to tell me where Alison was?

I looked towards the table beside me for my phone but it was not there.

"Where's my phone?" I asked.

With a guilty look on her face, Hanna pulled it out of her coat pocket.

I reached out my hand for it, but Hanna did not make a move to hand it to me.

Hanna's POV 

"Aria, we'll be right back." I grabbed Emily's hand and quickly led her out of the room.

Before I closed Aria's room door behind us, I saw Aria watching us with a confused expression on her face.

"We can't give Aria her phone!" I said to Emily. "There are texts from A and Fitz on here!" I held the phone up. "And I think she was going to call Alison! How the hell do we explain to Aria that she's in love with and dating our old English teacher and that our best friend Alison was murdered? What the hell are we supposed to do?"

"What's going on?" I turned around to see Ezra and Spencer walking over to us.

Ezra's POV 

Spencer and I walked back over to Aria's room to find Emily and Hanna standing outside the room arguing.

"What's going on?" Spencer asked the two girls.

"How do we explain to Aria why we can't give her her phone?" Hanna asked, turning to us.

"Why can't you?" I asked.

"Because there are texts from _ you _on here." Hanna said, her voice oozing obviousness.

"Good point." I said softly. "Has she remembered anything?" I asked, hopeful. I desperately wanted her to remember _just one, _one single memory of the two of us. Something that I could hold onto, and assure myself that she has not completely forgotten about me.

"No." Emily shook her head sadly. "She was going to call Ali."

Spencer looked at us in shock. "She _what?" _

Emily and Hanna nodded in affirmation.

"Well, what happened?" Spencer pressed.

"We took her phone away, and now here we are!" Emily explained.

I looked through the window of the door to Aria's room. She was lying in the bed, staring at the ceiling.

Wordlessly, I reached for the silver door handle and went inside. The door closed softly behind me, and Aria turned in the bed so she could face me.

She had an expression of confusion and sadness on her face. She was so beautiful, even in the broken state she was in.

I sighed as I watched her watching me.

"There's something you guys aren't telling me." She said softly.

"You're right." I agreed, as I took a few steps closer to her bed. "But now's not the right time to flood you with information of things you can't remember." I said painfully. "Your memories of the things you can't remember now… will come back in time."

"I try and think of… what I did yesterday, for example, but I just come up with this big black hole of time. There's nothing there. No memories. I can't remember… what I did yesterday before I went to Emily's house, yet, I remember running into the woods chasing Hanna for Spencer's shoes." Aria let out a sigh in frustration.

She looked at me curiously. "And you never gave a good reason… of why are you here?"

"I'm here because… you were one of my best students and… I wanted to make sure you were okay." I said simply, trying not to convey my true feelings or the real reason I was there.

She looked at me skeptically, as if she was deciding whether or not to believe me. I desperately wanted to take her in my arms and assure her that everything was going to be okay. I wanted to whisper in her ear words of comfort. I wanted to hold her body against mine. But I knew I couldn't. I knew I couldn't do _ any _of that.

We stayed silent for a moment, just watching each other.

"There's something that you're not telling me." She said again.

I furrowed my eyebrows at her in confusion.

"Teachers don't look at their students the way you are looking at me, Mr. Fitz." Aria said quietly.

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	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you for all your amazing reviews! : EZRIA,EZRIA, gryffindorheiress1235, SolitudeMyLove, EzriaAddicted, OnceAWildcatAlwaysAWildcat, nightmares,and,dreamers, truelovewaits, stephanierenee22, PrettyLittleBethany, louisamarie, HarrylovesGinny09, mdbballbabe23, TeamAries, smash, crazyatbest, and ezriaFTW! Love you all! **

"_Teachers don't look at their students the way you are looking at me, Mr. Fitz." Aria said quietly._

Ezra's POV

"Because you're so much more than that! Because I'm in love with you!" I wanted to scream, but I knew I couldn't.

To my relief, the door to Aria's room swung open before I could respond to her question. Ella walked in, with a bottle of water in her hands.

"Oh, Ezra, I didn't think you'd still be here." She handed Aria her water, before sitting down next to her daughter in the chair beside her bed.

"I was just leaving. I just… didn't want to leave Aria alone in here." I lied.

Ella nodded. "Well thanks for checking up on her. That was nice of you."

I gave Ella a smile, before leaving the room.

As I was walking out, I spotted Spencer, Hanna, and Emily, huddled together talking to each other.

"Mr. Fitz!" Spencer called as she motioned for me to come over to her.

I made my way over to where the three girls were sitting.

"What happened? Did she remember anything about you?" Hanna pressed eagerly, dying for information.

"Nothing." I shook my head and let out a sigh.

"I'm sorry." Emily said sympathetically.

I was still trying to comprehend everything that was happening. Of all the people in her life, why was I the one who Aria could not remember? I thought I was one of the most important people in her life, but now, I was nobody. I was just her old English teacher, and never anything more.

"What is it going to take for her to remember me?" I asked no one in particular.

A silence followed my question, for no one knew the answer.

"Kiss her." Spencer suddenly blurted out.

"What?" I asked, looking at her with a confused expression on her face.

"Kiss her!" She repeated again. "Maybe she'll remember your kiss!"

"Yeah," Emily agreed. "I'm sure she would remember you after that. I mean, every person I've ever been with kisses differently, and I can easily distinguish each of his or her kisses. I think this might actually work!"

"Well that's a great plan!" Hanna exclaimed.

Spencer's face lit up with excitement at the approval of Hanna.

"Apart from the fact that Aria thinks that Ezra is _ only _her old English teacher and nothing more! Wouldn't you just get a _ little _creeped out if your old English teacher, that you were just reintroduced to, kissed you?" Hanna asked in an exasperated tone, throwing her hands up in the air to prove her point.

"Yeah, well, I don't see you coming up with a better plan!" Spencer snapped at Hanna.

"No, actually, I like it. It's worth a try, right?" I nodded.

"Of course _you_ approve," Hanna muttered under her breath. "You get to kiss Aria."

"I'm going to go get Mrs. Montgomery out of the room so we can do this." Spencer stood up and headed for Aria's hospital room.

I turned to Emily. "Do you know how long she's going to have to stay here?"

"No idea. I think a day or two but I'm not sure." Emily shrugged.

Hanna's phone chimed with a new text a moment later.

"Ella's gone, let's go." Hanna said, gesturing to her phone.

We quickly all walked over to Aria's room. As we all entered the small room, Aria turned in the bed so that she could face us all.

"Can I ask you girls something?" Aria asked quietly.

"Of course," All three girls replied in unison.

"Do you promise to be honest with me?"

"Y-" Hanna began, but Spencer cut her off.

"Aria, I know that it's annoying having so many things that you can't remember, but us telling you a ton of information about the things that you've forgotten isn't going to make anything better. You'll just end up straining yourself to remember those things, but I don't think it will help. You need to remember your past on your own. The memories will come back to you when the time is right." Spencer assured Aria.

"What about you?" Aria asked abruptly, looking at me.

"Aria he's not just your old English teacher." Spencer informed Aria.

I held my breath. Now was not the time to tell Aria about her relationship with me. I knew it would just cause unnecessary pain and angst for Aria, since she only knew me as he old English teacher at this point.

"Spencer," I sighed painfully. "Don't." I took a deep breath. "She'll remember in time."

"Remember what?" Aria exclaimed. "Why can't you just _ tell me _why you're here?"

"Aria, because we need you to remember him on your own! We're not going to overwhelm you with information!" Spencer fired back. "But we need you to trust him, Aria. He's more important to you than you think." Spencer said to Aria.

Aria laid back in her bed, slouching against the pillows in defeat.

"Then can you tell me this?" She asked softly.

"What?" Emily asked, sitting down beside Aria on her bed.

"Where's Ali?" Aria looked up at Emily, and gazed into her eyes, begging Emily to tell her the truth.

"Now's not the time to hear about that either." Emily said quietly. "We'll tell you when you go back home."

Aria nodded in response as she closed her eyes.

I knew that it was now or never. Spencer, Hanna, and Emily, all had their eyes on me, as I walked closer to Aria's bed. Her eyes remained closed as I got closer and closer to her.

I leaned down and softly pressed my lips against hers. I pulled away a moment later, to find that Aria's eyes were still closed. I watched her face as she slowly opened her eyes and brought her fingers up to her mouth and ran them slowly across her lips.

To my surprise, she did not attack me right then and there. Even though her old English teacher had just kissed her, she remained calm as she dropped her fingers from her lips.

"That's not right." She mumbled quietly to herself. "That's not the kiss I remember."

"What the hell?" Hanna exclaimed in a loud whisper.

My mouth was slightly agape as I watched Aria in disbelief. Did that really just happen? I kissed Aria, yet she still did not remember me! What was it going to take? I was scared to flood her with information about the truth about her relationship with me, in fear that she will get scared of everything that has happened between us, and run away. I knew that that would be the end of us.

All of a sudden, I felt Hanna grab my arm as she followed Spencer and Emily out the door, dragging me along behind them.

Once we were out of Aria's room, they all exploded into speech.

"What the hell was that?" Hanna exclaimed again, looking back and forth between Spencer, Emily, and I.

"I can't believe it didn't work!" Spencer crossed her arms across her chest; clearly angry that her plan did not work out the way she wanted it to.

"So whose kiss is she remembering then?" Emily asked us all.

"Well, how many other guys has she kissed?" Spencer asked.

"She kissed Noel-" Emily began, before Hanna interrupted her.

"Ew." Hanna muttered under her breath.

"Do you really think it's Noel's kiss she's remembering? She never really even liked the boy. She really only dated him to make Ezra jealous." Spencer said.

"Who else though?" Hanna asked.

I wracked my brain for an answer to that question. I suddenly let out a loud gasp, as I realized who it was. Whose kiss it was that Aria was remembering. Who she was remembering instead of _ me. _

"Jason." I said in barely a whisper, as my mind slowly comprehended exactly what it was that I was saying.

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	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you so much for your reviews! : PrettyLittleBethany, Kayla, Nicole, Kaitlin, AJMcGough, HarrylovesGinny09, nightmares,and,dreamers, HandswithRoses, SolitudeMyLove, and EzriaAddicted! **

**Kayla: Jason won't physically be a character in this story, but his name will be mentioned at the least. This goes for Jackie too. This story if focusing solely on Aria trying to get her memories back of Ezra and how it affects their relationship. I'm going to skip out on all the relationship drama that comes with Jackie and Jason, because I hate both of them. I'm sure that every other Ezria shipper can relate. **

Aria's POV

I tried to contain my emotions as Hanna, Spencer, Emily, and Mr. Fitz all hurried out of my room. What the hell had just happened? Did Mr. Fitz actually kiss me or was I imagining things? As I brought my fingers up to my lips again, I realized that it was real. My _teacher _ actually kissed me. Why the hell would he do that? Why would a teacher kiss his student? And why did everyone flip out afterwards? When Mr. Fitz kissed me, it felt foreign, and strange. Obviously that was because he was my teacher. What kind of teacher goes around kissing their students? Why wouldn't anyone just tell me what was going on?

As my mind tried to wrap around the events that had just occurred, I realized how disgusting it was. Mr. Fitz, my old English teacher, kissed me. I mean, he seemed to be in his early twenties, so that was not such a huge deal to me, but he was my teacher! His job was to teacher young girls and boys! How many of his other students had he kissed? Didn't he have a girlfriend? I knew that I needed to talk to someone about this, or I would explode. The first people who came to mind were the girls. However, for some odd reason, they did not seem surprised when Mr. Fitz kissed me. It was almost as if they were expecting it and waiting for it to happen!

There is definitely more to this man than anyone's telling me.

I needed to talk to Ali. She would tell me the truth.

Ezra's POV

Aria did not remember anything about me. None of the moments we spent together, none of the times we foolishly flirted with each other in my English classroom during the middle of first period, not even when we first met at Snookers. Yet she was able to remember the one time she kissed Jason DiLaurentis. How was that possible?

"I need to tell her parents." I sighed to the girls.

There was no way that I was going to be able to spend enough time with Aria to help her remember me if her parents did not know about us. As much as I did not want to, I knew that it was the only way.

"Are you sure?" Emily asked. "I thought you guys were going to tell them together."

"Well they can't really do that anymore, now can they?" Hanna snapped at Emily.

I shook my head. "Wish me luck."

"Ezra, just breath. It'll be fine." Spencer assured me.

I gave her a small smile before I walked back into the hospital lobby.

I spotted Ella sitting in a chair near the window, holding her phone in her hand and gazing out the window at the full moon surrounded by a countless number of glimmering stars.

I wanted to tell her how sorry I was that all of this had happened to her daughter, and how I knew how she was feeling, but I knew that I could not, without revealing the truth about my relationship my Aria. Was I really ready for this? What were Ella and Byron going to think of me after I told them? Would they believe me when I said that I loved Aria? It was scary enough when Ella confronted me at the police station after the girls had been called in for questioning. Right then and there, she basically said that she would ruin me for being in a relationship with Aria. Her reaction to the false information that I was dating Spencer was scary enough, was I really ready to deal with her reaction to the truth about me dating _her own daughter? _

I shook my head. I had to do this. For the sake of my relationship with Aria. There was no way that I was going to be able to become a part of Aria's life the way I used to be, without her parents knowing about our relationship.

"Ezra," Ella called, pulling me out of my train of thought.

I looked up to see Ella watching me, as I stood against the wall thinking about the ridiculous mess I had gotten myself in.

There were bags under Ella's eyes and she looked miserable. As if she just wanted to leave this place. As if she could not handle any more bad news about her daughter.

At that moment, I really hoped that Ella truly was as strong of a woman as she presented herself to be. I knew that if she was not, then I had to prepare myself for not only a raging Montgomery mother, but also one on the edge of a breakdown, after hearing the news that her daughter and her old English teacher were in love. Or at least used to be.

I walked over to her and sat down in one of the chairs beside her.

"Byron and Mike went home since Mike has school in the morning." She informed me, speaking quietly.

I nodded in response, unsure of what to say.

"So what are you still doing here? It's late, don't you have a class tomorrow?"

I closed my eyes for a moment and took a deep breathe before responding. "Um, actually. There's… there's something I wanted to talk to you about." I said softly.

She looked at me curiously, but said no words.

"Aria and I previously agreed to do this together… but," I paused, gauging her reaction of my mention of Aria. "That's clearly no longer an option."

"To do what?" Ella asked, looking at me curiously.

I bit my lip, wishing that Ella just would understand what I was needed to tell her without me having to actually say it out loud.

I took another deep breath trying to steady myself and just man up and admit the truth: That I was in love with her daughter. Oh, I wished it were that easy.

"Um… Aria and I…" I paused and looked away. "I can't believe I'm doing this." I muttered quietly to myself.

"Ezra, what's going on?" Ella asked, in a concerned voice.

What's going on? I'm dating your daughter that does not remember me, that's what's going on!

"Ella, when I tell you… What I'm about to tell you…" I looked her directly in the eyes, wanting her to understand me completely. "Can you promise me that you will let me explain and not jump to conclusions?"

Was I asking for too much? Probably. Was she going to listen to me after I admitted the truth? Probably not.

I sighed, knowing that I was just trying to delay telling Ella the truth as much as possible, in fear of what would happen afterwards.

"It depends," She looked at me like I was crazy. I could not blame her. After tonight, I probably was. "What are you trying to tell me, Ezra?"

"The truth is… that rumor you heard about me earlier this year, that you asked Aria about…" I paused, carefully watching her reaction to my words. "Um, well… it's… it's true."

"You _ really _started a relationship with one of your students?" She asked me in disbelief, scooting forward in her chair. "And why did you lie to me, twice may I add, about it?"

"I didn't lie." I assured her. "You were wrong..." I paused for what seemed like forever. "It's not Spencer."

"Then who is it, Ezra?" She shook her head at me.

I gripped the edge of the chair to keep myself from jumping up from the chair and sprinting away from this whole situation. I looked down at my lap, as I tried to steady my breath, which had rapidly increased due to my extreme nervousness. I finally looked back up at Ella, who was watching my every move.

"Ella, you don't realize how hard it is for me right now to sit here and continue this conversation with you, instead of running away." I took a deep breath.

What I was about to do was beyond the definition of crazy. It was psycho. But I knew I had to do it.

"Ella…" I began, as I took another deep breath, before speaking the six little words that I knew would change everything. "I'm in love with Aria."

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	6. Chapter 6

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**As promised, here's the next chapter! Enjoy! **

Ezra's POV

I braced myself for the screaming and fury I knew was to come. I was still unsure whether or not Ella believed me when I said I was not in a relationship with Spencer, even though I had just confessed to Ella about my love for Aria.

Had I just made the biggest mistake of my life? From the look of rage on Ella Montgomery's face at that moment, I realized that it was possible that the answer was yes.

I reminded myself that I had to do this. There was no other choice if I wanted to continue to be a part of Aria's life and if I wanted to rebuild our relationship back to how it was before her accident.

Ella remained silent, as she watched me, her expression changing from that of rage, to portraying no emotions at all, not helping me in any way, as I could not get a glimpse of what she was feeling and her response to my confession.

I tried to imagine what was going through her head at that moment: Is this man crazy? What the hell is going on? He's in love with my daughter? What kind of teacher goes after their underage students? Did he force her to be with him? Should I call the police?

"What the hell have you done with my daughter?" Ella finally asked, looking at me with wrath burning in her eyes.

"Nothing." I assured her, answered quickly and honestly. Aria and I were waiting for the right time to have sex. The timing had just never felt right. And after today's events… I was not sure if the timing would _ever_ be right.

"Have you kissed her?"

I swallowed the lump in my throat, before replying to her question. "Y-yeah." More like, shoved our tongues down each other's throats, although I knew that the less information I shared to Ella about what Aria and I had done together, the better off both Aria and I were.

"Have you had sex with my daughter, which, may I remind you, would be illegal?"

"No." I repeated, not bothering to correct her statement. Aria and I having sex would actually be legal, since I was no longer Aria's teacher and since Aria was sixteen, and the age of consent in Rosewood, but I was sure that Ella did not want to hear that information.

She watched me for a moment, as if trying to determine whether or not I was lying to her. She must have believed me, because she decided to ask me yet another question.

"Does Aria share these feelings for you?" She asked me in a surprisingly calm tone.

I looked at her as I felt my eyes begin to water. Truthfully, I did not know the answer to her question. Did Aria still have feelings for me? Did she still love me? She did not even remember me! She did at one point, but I did not know if those feelings still held, after the events that had occurred since her concussion. Since she forgot all about me. How was it possible that someone so important and so dear to me was just wrenched out of my life, not to mention, in such a cruel way?

"She did." I nodded, trying to control my emotions. I looked down at my lap where my hands were folded together, before looking back up at Ella with a pained expression on my face. "I don't know if that still holds as of today, since she can't… remember me." I said in barley a whisper, as I realized what exactly it was that I was saying. Aria did not remember me. At all. It was as if I had lost her, but in a brutal way. She was still here, yet she had no memories of every being with me. And when Ella reintroduced me to Aria as Aria's old English teacher, all the hopes and chances I previously had of Aria every seeing me as more than her English teacher ever again, were crushed.

"So my daughter was the student you were dating?" She narrowed her eyes at me.

I took a deep breath, before nodding in answer to her question. "Yeah."

When she remained quiet, I knew this was the one chance I had to explain myself.

"Ella, I know how wrong this seems, but I need you to believe me when I say that I never meant for anything to happen between Aria and I. When we found out the truth, about what we really were to each other, we tried to stay away from each other, we really did, but… we just couldn't."

"What do you mean when you found out the truth? When did this start?"

I closed my eyes for a moment before responding. "Aria and I met the day you guys got back from Iceland. We instantly connected and it was like love at first sight. The next day, I saw her sitting in the third row of my English classroom."

Ella remained quiet at this, and I took that as my cue to continue my story.

"We tried to stay away from each other and forget about each other, multiple times, but it was too painful for both of us to endure." I said quietly. "The real reason I got the job at Hollis was Aria… so we could be together, without having to worry about being caught and getting in trouble."

"How do I know that you aren't making all this up, just so I won't call the police?"

"Ella, ask one of the girls," I gestured to the back of the hospital. "I'm sure Aria told them all about what we went through at first when we were together. Countless times we told each other that it was wrong for us to be together and that we could not do it, but every time, we just came back together. We couldn't stand being away from each other." I confessed.

Ella did not respond immediately, and I suddenly became nervous. Had I said something wrong? What was she thinking? Did she believe me, when I said that my feelings for Aria were genuine, or did she think I was just a pervert going after younger girls?

"Why are you telling me all of this? Now? Not that I wouldn't have wanted to know, but why the sudden urge?" She said, asking a completely different question than I had expected.

I paused for a moment before answering. I was still waiting for the moment when Ella would explode at me and tell me I could never see her daughter again. That I needed to get out of her life and never become a part of it again. That Aria was going to know me forever, after today, as her Junior AP English teacher, and never anything more.

"Because of what happened today. Since Aria can't remember me, I thought you should know the truth about why I came here tonight. Because…" I looked away and took a deep breath as I tried to hold back the tears I felt forming in my eyes. Once I regained my composure, I turned to Ella once again. "Because what Aria and I have, is stronger than love. And I can't let something like this be the death of our relationship."

She watched me for a moment, before responding. "Ezra, you need be real." Her tone was not offensive, it was soft, as if she was encouraging me and trying to get me to understand what she had to say. "Aria doesn't remember you. She thinks you're her old teacher and only her old teacher. Do you know what it's going to take for her to get those memories of the two of you back? Why don't you just save yourself the pain and stress?"

"Because I'm willing to fight for Aria. I don't care what it takes. If this had happened to me, and I had forgotten about her, I know for a fact that she would have done everything in her power and more to help me remember her again… That's exactly what I have to do." I said.

"Ezra… Aside from the fact that this relationship is extremely inappropriate, I understand where you're coming from and I hear you… However, I think it's best if you forget about my daughter. At least for now. Save yourself the misery you know that you will go through if you don't. Just forget about her. She doesn't remember you and she's not going to anytime soon."

"I can't do that." I shook my head.

"Ezra, you and I both know that it's best if Aria _ doesn't _deal with something like this right now."

"No, Ella, I can't do that. You don't understand what this is like for me. Aria and I have been through hell and back, and she doesn't remember a single moment of it!" I exclaimed.

"And that's why I think you should forget about her. She needs to focus on getting her memories back. In the future, if she shows interest in you again, and if the two of you are really meant to be together, then see where it goes and let everything fall into place." She shrugged. "But for now, Ezra, don't hurt my daughter by trying to force her to remember you again."

I closed my eyes and looked away. It hurt me to hear her say those words to me. How was I going to be able to obey her commands? Did I have the power in me to stay away from Aria?

"Ella, it would have been very different if you had told me that I could never see Aria again because you didn't accept our relationship. But instead, she doesn't remember me! That's a bigger punishment than anything you ever could have done." I whispered as I felt my eyes welling up with tears once again.

Ella watched me for a moment, taking in my words.

"I know that this is hard for you, but right now, we need to think about what's best for Aria."

"I just want to help." I bit my lip. "I know that Aria would want me to help her remember me. Her of all people would want me to fight for her again."

"Ezra. Stay away from Aria for now. I'm not saying forever, but right now she needs to focus on getting better." Ella said again.

I let out a sigh and nodded in defeat. I would fight for Aria when the time was right. Now, clearly, just was not the right time.

I watched Ella as she stood up and looked around the hospital. She glanced at the watch on her wrist before speaking again.

"It's after midnight. I think you should go now."

"Thank you Ella… for hearing me out tonight." I said softly, truly meaning the words I spoke.

"I need some time to process all of this, before I decide what to do about it."

I nodded before also standing up. "And I stand by what I said before, leave Aria alone for the time being."

"Y-yeah." I assured her that I heard what she was requesting.

She turned away and headed back towards Aria's room, leaving me standing alone in the vacant hospital lobby.

I pulled my keys out of my pocket and walked out of the hospital.

It felt like such a heavy burden had finally been lifted off of me, since Ella now knew the truth about my relationship with her daughter. Although it was painful that she told me that I had to stay away from Aria, I knew that I was going to be able to find a way to become a part of her life again. I was determined to do everything in my power to get the Aria I had gotten to know and love back in my arms again.

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	7. Chapter 7

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Aria's POV 

"It's so nice to be back home." I confessed, as I sat down on my bed. I had been released from the hospital earlier today, and my parents had let the girls and I stop at a coffee shop to grab a drink before coming home. "I hate hospitals." I shuttered.

"You're telling me." Hanna smirked. "Thankfully it's the summer though, so you don't have to go back to school!" Hanna exclaimed, as she took a sip of the coffee in her hands. "You can focus on remembering Fitz again!"

"Who?" I narrowed my eyes at her, confused.

"Your b-" She began, before Emily punched her shoulder.

"Stop." Emily muttered quietly to Hanna.

"Mr. Fitz." Spencer clarified. "Our old English teacher that you can't remember."

"Oh." I looked down. What was so important about him? Why was it such a big deal that I remember him again? He was just my English teacher!

"Oh!" I suddenly gasped. "So," I began, finally remembering that the girls promised to tell me about Ali when I got back home. "Tell me where Ali-" I began, but stopped abruptly as I heard an angry voice coming from downstairs.

"You need to leave." We heard my mom snarl at someone from the floor below us.

"Who's here?" Emily asked, looking at me curiously.

I shrugged, not knowing.

"I can't." We heard a voice desperately reply. At the sound of that voice, Spencer jumped out of the chair she was sitting on and raced out of my room. We all followed her out of my bedroom and watched my mom from the top of the staircase.

As I moved closer, I saw Mr. Fitz, the teacher who had come to see me while I was in the hospital.

"What's he doing here?" I whispered.

The girls remained quiet as we continued to watch the exchange between Ella and Mr. Fitz.

"Please, just let me talk to her for a minute." Mr. Fitz begged.

"I told you to stay away from her!" Ella whispered back angrily.

"Please Ella! I just want to see if she's remembered anything!" He responded in a desperate tone.

Unable to watch the exchange anymore, I grabbed Hanna and Emily's arms and led them back to my room, trusting that Spencer would follow.

"Ella, if my feelings for Aria weren't genuine, I wouldn't be here!" I thought I faintly heard Mr. Fitz exclaim. What was he talking about? His _ feelings _for me? I shook my head, disregarding his words.

I shoved them into the room and closed the door behind me. I turned around to face the three girls, who were looking at me with strange looks etched on their faces.

"What is going on with him?" I asked, referring to Mr. Fitz's bizarre actions.

"He just cares about you, that's all." Spencer said hurriedly, before exchanging a nervous glance with Hanna and Emily.

I nodded, unsure of whether or not to believe her.

Ezra's POV 

Ella let out a huge sigh as she watched me.

"Ella," I began, trying to think of a way to make her understand my situation. "What if Byron suddenly forgot about you? If he completely forgot _everything_? If he forgot that he loved you. How would that make you feel? Because that's exactly how I'm feeling right now."

Ella remained silent for a moment, before finally responding. "Fine. Only a few minutes. And you better not try anything on her either." She said, her voice stressing seriousness.

"Thank you." I said gratefully, before turning towards the staircase. I had been inside Aria's room once before, during the disastrous faculty mixer that almost broke us up. I took a deep breath, before knocking on the closed door.

Aria opened the door a second later. Hanna, Emily, and Spencer, were standing beside her, as if they had all been huddled next to the door.

"Hanna, Spencer, Emily," I greeted them. "Do you mind if I speak with Aria for a minute?"

"No problem." Hanna winked at me.

"Check the closet. See if she remembers anything from the black bag." Emily whispered to me, as began to leave the room.

I scrunched my eyebrows together in confusion, not having the faintest idea of what she was talking about.

"Just do it!" She whispered, before rushing out of the room.

I closed the door softly behind me, before turning to Aria. She had sat down on her bed and her knees were curled up to her chest, as if she was trying to protect herself from something. She rested her chin on her knees, watching me. Her silky hair cascaded around her shoulders, and I had to stop myself from taking her in my arms and running my fingers through the soft strands. Her normally sparkling brown eyes were portraying fear and from the crease lines in her forehead, I knew she was beyond confused. Could I blame her? If I was Aria and my English teacher was acting the way I was towards me, I would be scared out of my mind too.

"What do you want?" She asked desperately.

I remained silent as I walked over to her closet and opened the doors. I looked around for the bag Emily had been talking about. What was in it? Why did I need it?

I finally spotted a big black duffel bag; hopefully that was what Emily had been talking about. I grabbed it and set it down next to Aria on her bed.

"Do you know what's in here?" I asked, motioning towards the bag.

She shrugged and shook her head.

In one swift motion, I unzipped the zipper and looked inside. The first thing to catch my eye was the book containing the poem I had written for Aria a few months ago. I pulled it out, to discover that there was a bookmark stuck inside one of the pages. Knowing what was coming, I opened the book to the marked page, and was greeted with one of my poems, B-26. I handed the book to Aria, making sure not to lose the page.

"Do you remember this?" I asked her.

As she took the book from my hands, she finally tore her gaze away from me so that she could read the poem.

I reached into the bag once again, but this time I pulled out a plastic spoon. The significance of the spoon quickly struck me. When Aria and I had our first coffee together, we had both taken a token of the night to remember it. I had taken a coffee stirrer, and Aria had taken a spoon. They were simple tokens that were worthless to anyone else, but to Aria and I, they held immense significance. I could not help but smile at the thought that after all of this time, she had still kept it.

Aria looked up from the book. "Why is that in there?" She took the spoon from me and examined it, before jumping off of the bed.

"What are you doing?" I asked, turning away from the bag.

"Throwing this away." She said, her voice oozing obviousness as she walked over to her trashcan.

"Wait, don't." I stopped her. I took the spoon from her hands and placed it back inside the bag. "That has significance… you'll remember eventually."

She looked inside the bag again and pulled out a grey Hollis t-shirt that she probably had taken from my apartment.

"What is this doing in here? And why did Byron get me such a big size?" Aria held the shirt up against her body, and it fell past the middle of her thighs.

"Because your dad didn't get that for you." I clarified. _"It's mine."_ I desperately wanted to say, but I managed to stop myself. "Someone gave it to you."

"Who?" She asked, as she pulled out a dart from the bag. "What the heck?" She muttered to herself.

I remained silent, not wanting to answer her question. As soon as I spotted the dart, I could not help but chuckle to myself. It was from the night I had read one of my short stories and Aria had met my best friend Hardy. If it were not for Aria's determination in making our relationship work, we would have broken up that night, due to my own insecurities.

I motioned to all of the items sprawled out on her bed. "None of these mean anything to you?"

She stared at the items for a moment and peered back inside of the bag at the items I had not bothered taking out, before shaking her head. "Should they?" She looked up at me, confusion written all over her face.

I shook my head, silently cursing myself at my failed attempt at helping Aria remember me.

I helped Aria gather all of the items and put them back inside of the bag, before putting it back inside of her closet.

"What was the point of that?" She folded her arms across her chest.

"Because, when you remember something that has to do with anything in that bag, make sure you tell me." I said.

"Why?" She asked slowly and reluctantly.

"Because I know why all of that is in there." I said softly. "No one else does."

The bedroom door burst open a moment later, and Hanna, Emily, and Spencer, came piling in. "Mrs. Montgomery wanted us to tell you that your time is up." Hanna said.

I nodded, before leaving the room.

It was all worth a try, right? Everything from that bag were the most tangible items I could get a hold of that held significance and memories of the times Aria and I have spent together. Yet, now it all meant nothing to her.

"Ezra?" I heard a voice call softly, as I walked down the stairs.

I turned to see Ella sitting on the couch in the living room, watching me with a sad look on her face. "I thought about what you said… and I understand how hard this is for you."

"Thank you." I whispered, as I sat down beside her.

"I can see that you really do care about Aria, and I'm sorry that all this happened." She said sympathetically.

I nodded and gave her a small smile.

"Byron's leaving for a business trip tonight and he'll be gone all week." She tilted her head a few inches to the side. "If you want, you could stay with Aria for a few days to see if… if it helps her remember you some more."

I looked at her in confusion. Did I hear her right? Did she actually say what I think she said? "Y-you wouldn't mind?" I asked in disbelief.

She shook her head. "Now that I think about it, how many times has Aria told us that she was staying at Spencer's or Hanna's, when in reality, she was with you?"

"Quite a few." I bit my lip, showing my guilt.

"You can have dinner with us tonight and just bring some stuff over." Ella gave me a small smile.

"W-wait. You want me to stay _here?" _I asked incredulously. I thought she had meant Aria could stay with me! Not the other way around!

"Only if you want to." She assured me. "I'd rather have Aria at home, where we know she's safe, if you understand what I mean."

I nodded. "Y-yeah." I bit my lip, unsure of the whole situation. "A-are you sure about this?" I asked, hesitantly.

"Yeah, it's not a big deal. It's just for a few days, she has to remember you eventually, right?"

"Y-yeah, I guess. Thanks then. Um, I'll see you later tonight."

She nodded at me as I walked out the door. Knowing that I would be back, gave me hope that Aria and I could work through all of this, and emerge stronger than ever.

**Sorry guys, I know it was awful! I had writer's block but I really wanted to give you guys a new chapter! **

***If you have any ideas of things you want to happen in the next few chapters, let me know, because Mike will be included in the story and he doesn't know about Aria and Ezra! **

**Can we get to 100 reviews? Pretty please? :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Thank you all so much for your sweet reviews! : cheergirl19961, PrettyLittleSwifty13, Ashley, Susie, HarrylovesGinny09, HandswithRoses, ezriaFTW, nightmares,and,dreamers, SolitudeMyLove, Mia4422, crazyatbest, krazyfan1, and EzriaAddicted! **

Aria's POV

"Aria, Mr. Fitz is going to be staying with us for a few days." Ella said, as she pulled a head of lettuce out of the refrigerator.

"What?" I asked, completely surprised. "Why?"

"I need his help with some things while Bryon is gone." She shifted the position she was standing in uncomfortably, as if she was hiding something from me.

"Mom?" I turned to her and dropped the cucumber I had been peeling onto the cutting board.

"Hmm?"

"What's the deal with Mr. Fitz?" I asked, praying she would be honest with me.

"What do you mean?" She furrowed her brows at me in confusion.

"He just… acts weird when he's around me." I leaned against the counter as I tried to think of the right words to express my feelings.

"He cares about you, that's all. You were one of his best students." She said.

I nodded, unsure of whether or not to believe her.

"And you don't find it weird that you just invited my teacher to stay with us?" I asked, reluctantly.

"Aria, he's not your teacher anymore. He's a family friend. He's been over a few times and your father and Ezra are good friends."

I nodded, pretending that I understood.

Was I the only one who found it weird that my ex-teacher was staying at my _house _for a few days? Why did everyone keep dismissing his odd behavior? He came into my room and went through my things! He watches me as if he is waiting for something to happen or for me to do something. I wished that everyone would stop hiding things from me and just tell me the truth!

The doorbell rang a moment later, interrupting my train of thought.

"That must be Ezra!" My mom exclaimed. "Aria, would you mind getting the door?"

I walked out of the kitchen and went to open the door. I pulled it open and there Mr. Fitz was, standing on the other side with a duffel bag in his hands. I had to admit, that with his sparking blue eyes and tousled black hair, he was kind of cute. I bit my lip shyly. His eyes bore into mine, as if he was able to read every one of my emotions.

I shook my head a moment later. What was wrong with me? I just thought that my _ teacher _was cute!

"Aria," He greeted, and flashed me a cute boyish smile. I could not help but smile back. God that smile was beautiful.

I mentally slapped myself for thinking that. What was going on with me?

"S-sorry." I said hurriedly, apologizing for making him stand outside for so long. "Come in."

I shut the door behind us and he set his bag down beside the door. Ella came up to us a moment later and gave Ezra a hug.

"Aria, why don't you show him where his room is? He can use the guestroom next to your room."

I nodded, before motioning for Ezra to follow me. He grabbed his bag and followed me up the stairs.

"So, this will be your room." I opened the door to the guestroom and gestured inside. "The bathroom has towels and everything," I pointed towards the connecting bathroom.

"If you need anything, I-I'm right next door." I gave him a small smile.

I turned to leave, but he suddenly spoke up, stopping me.

"Aria?" He began. I turned around to see that he was leaning against the edge of the bed and watching me intently.

"Listen, um… It's…" He took a deep breath. "Odd… that you can't remember me. But, um, we used to be good friends. Really good friends. I just wanted you to know that."

"Uh, okay." I looked at him curiously, not sure whether I was understand the full meaning behind his words.

"Also," The corners of his mouth turned up in a small smile as he spoke. "You don't have to call me Mr. Fitz. I'm not your teacher anymore. Call me Ezra."

I nodded, before going back downstairs. I guess it made sense; he was as my mom said, a family friend, after all. I found my mom searching the pantry for something. I sat down on one of the barstools and watched my mom.

"Where's Mike?" I suddenly asked. I had not seen him since I left the hospital with the girls.

"Oh, he went to his friend, Josh's house. I think he's staying the night." She said, not turning away from the refrigerator.

"Aria, honey, would you do me a favor?" Ella asked desperately.

"Sure, what's up?" I jumped off of the barstool and made my way over to her.

"Would you and Ezra go run up to the store and get some things for me so I can make dinner?"

I looked at her in confusion. "Why do I need him to go with me? I'm pretty sure I'm old enough to go to the grocery store alone." I let out a quiet laugh.

Mr. Fitz appeared in the kitchen a moment later. "Thank you so much for letting me stay with you guys, Mrs. Montgomery."

"Oh, it's not a problem, Ezra." Ella smiled. "But could you do one thing for me?"

I shook my head, knowing exactly what she was going to ask.

"Of course." He nodded.

"Would you run up to the store with Aria and get me some things? I'll text Aria what I need."

"That's fine." He shrugged as he turned to me.

I sighed before meeting his eyes. Those piercing beautiful blue eyes.

"Ready to go?" He asked me, as he pulled his keys out of his pocket.

I nodded, before following him out the door.

As soon as I spotted the car parked in front of our house, I froze.

It was like a flashback, yet I could not remember being there or any of it happening.

_I trudged through the woods, pushing the branches out of my way until I spotted the silver car. I opened the door as quietly as I could, before sitting down in the passenger seat. "Thanks for, meeting me," The person sitting in the driver's seat said. I lowered the hood of my jacket but neither of us turned to face each other. "I don't blame you for being angry." He began, shaking his head. "I deserve it. I was… a coward." He shot a glance at me before continuing. "I should have fought for you." I was quick to respond, but still did not once turn to meet his eyes. "Yeah, why didn't you?" He remained silent for a moment, before answering. I bit my lip, not knowing what his answer would be. "I wasn't looking for another job so I could leave you, Aria. I was… looking for you." I finally turned towards the man, wanting an explanation for his words. _

"Aria!" I heard a voice exclaim. "Are you okay?"

Ezra rushed over to where I had froze and was trying to get a response out of me.

I blinked my eyes quickly, as I regained my composure.

"What just happened?" Ezra asked, his voice laced with worry. 

"I… I don't know." I whispered. Even though it was dark in that memory, I knew that the man in the car had been Ezra. What had I been doing in his car? Where were we? Why had I been angry with him? And why had I wanted _him _to fight for me?

"Did you remember something?" He asked eagerly.

"I've been in your car before, haven't I?" I asked, turning to look into those gorgeous blue eyes once again.

"Yeah, you have." He nodded. "Quite a few times."

He opened the passenger door for me and waited until I had sat down, before getting in the car.

"What did you remember?" He stuck the keys in the ignition and turned to face me.

"We were in the woods… and I must have been mad at you or someone, because you said that you didn't blame me for being angry and that you deserved my wrath…" I said slowly, not looking up from my lap as I recalled the memory. "What was I angry at you for?" I finally looked up to meet his eyes.

"Not standing up for what I believed in." He said simply, never once taking his eyes off of me.

We started at each other for a moment. Obviously, he knew a lot about me. The way he watched me, it was if he was waiting for me to do something. I just had no idea what.

"Did you remember anything else from that night?"

I shook my head. The memory had abruptly ended when he called my name.

He finally tore his gaze away from me as he started the car.

I closed my eyes and leaned back in the seat. I had a feeling that these next few days were going to be the longest of my life.

**She finally remembered something! But… it was only half of the memory. Hope you guys liked this, and PLEASE REVIEW! The more reviews I get, the faster I update! **


	9. Chapter 9

**Is it just me, or do almost all of the BEST Ezria scenes always include Ezra's car? It's like a good luck token! In the 2x02 amazing kiss, Ezra's car is right next to them. In the 1x02 rain scene, Ezra's car is involved. In the make up scene in 1x10, the scene happens in Ezra's car. The Spencer and Ezra scene (which I LOVED) in 2x10 happened in Ezra's car. The scene where Ezra finally stood up for his relationship and agreed to tell Aria's parents about them in 2x10 had Ezra's car in the background. I swear, whenever we hear that Ezra's car is going to be in a scene, there's no doubt that it will be amazing! And 2x17 is supposed to be amazing for Ezria, and guess what? There's a car scene! :D **

**(I said almost in the beginning because my second favorite scene is from 1x13 where Aria tells Ezra she loves him! Ah such a sweet scene!) **

**It was so hard choosing a scene for her to remember in the last chapter when she saw Ezra's car because there were so many great ones I had to choose from!**

**Thank you all for your reviews! : Ashley, Susie, LAX, nikki, MEB, HandswithRoses, SolitudeMyLove, nightmares,and,dreamers, ezrialove, byrnelise2, i live my life HIGH, cheergirl19961, PrettyLittleSwifty13, crazyatbest, and EzriaAddicted! **

Ezra's POV

"So how did you become friends with my parents?" Aria asked me as I grabbed a shopping cart. I was about to take her hand in mine, but stopped myself at the last second. _ She doesn't remember you. _I painfully reminded myself.

"Um, Ella and I were colleagues while I worked at Rosewood. I met your dad at the parent-teacher conferences. We became friends shortly after that when he offered to get me the job I have now." I told her.

"She wants tomatoes," Aria muttered to herself as we entered the produce section of the grocery store.

"Why did you leave?" Aria asked me curiously.

I picked out a few tomatoes before putting them into a plastic bag. Why did I leave Rosewood High? _Because of you. _

"Hollis gave me more opportunities and free time to… do my own writing." I partially lied.

"You write?"

"Here and there. A few short stories, a few poems…" I trailed off. _Most of which are about you. _I thought to myself.

"Me too." She smiled.

I tried to hold back a laugh. Of I course I knew she liked to write. It was one of the first things I learned about her.

We entered the frozen food isle, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Aria's face light up as she walked a few steps ahead of me.

I could not help but smile to myself, knowing exactly what she was looking for. I watched as she stood in front of the ice cream section and searched for a certain flavor.

Knowingly, I reached for a carton of cookie dough ice cream sitting in the fridge beside me. Without even realizing, Aria had walked right past it.

_I jumped off the couch as I heard a knock on my door. I smiled to myself, knowing exactly who was on the other side. I swung open my apartment door to see Aria smiling brightly at me. _

_She grabbed my face in both of her hands and placed a kiss on my lips. I eagerly kissed her back, as I realized just how much I had missed her. We pulled away a moment later, as I realized that her hands were full. _

"_So, I brought this," She held up a movie disk in front of me in her right hand._

"_And this." In the other hand, she held up a bag containing a carton of ice cream._

_She walked inside and I could not help but laugh at her eagerness as I shut the door behind me. _

"_I even…" She reached inside her purse and pulled out a big red spoon. "Brought my ice cream spoon." _

"_You have an ice cream spoon?" I asked in disbelief as I sat down beside her on the couch. _

"_Of course!" She giggled as she lifted the lid off of the ice cream. "It's special. Just for cookie dough flavor." _

_I laughed to myself. Would Aria ever understand how much I loved her? She was so mature, yet she was still a little kid at heart. _

"_Couldn't wait for me, could you?" I asked from the kitchen as I grabbed a spoon for myself. I watched Aria as she stuck a spoonful into her mouth. She closed her eyes as she savored the taste, before responding to my question. _

"_Ice cream or Ezra… hmm…" She tapped her fingers against her chin thoughtfully. "I think I'll choose the ice cream." _

"You found it! I love that flavor!" Aria exclaimed, quickly walking back over to me.

"I know." I chuckled at her enthusiasm.

She gave me a funny look. "How in the world did you know that?"

_Because you used to buy cartons of it and bring it over to my apartment. _I wanted to say.

"I told you, your parents talk about you a lot." I gave her a small smile as I placed the ice cream into our cart.

"Mr. Fitz and… Aria?" I heard a girly voice ask in astonishment. I turned around to see Mona and Noel, two of my former students. Noel was holding Mona's hand, meaning that he had finally found someone new. Mona was holding a small tub of ice cream in her hands. "You naughty girl!"

"Thought you would have moved on by now, Aria." Noel smirked, as his eyes darted back and forth between us.

"What are you talking about?" Aria asked, looking at them in confusion.

"Noel, stop." I snapped at him.

"You and-" He began, but I cut him off.

"Noel, leave it alone." I placed a hand on Aria's back and guided her away from Noel and Mona. Leave it to Noel to pick on Aria about being with me.

"What the heck was that?" Aria turned to me, confusion written all over her face.

"Nothing. Noel just…" I sighed, as I tried to think of a way to explain everything Noel put Aria and I though in the vaguest way possible. "He tried to get together with you a while back, but you were already seeing someone. He got jealous and did some things… to hurt the two of you. He ended up getting in trouble."

"Who was I seeing? I don't have a boyfriend." She peered over her phone; rereading the text Ella had sent her of her grocery list.

I remained silent at this. How did I explain to her that _did _have a boyfriend? And that that boyfriendwas _me? _

"You forgot a lot after your accident." I whispered to myself. How is it that she was able to completely forget everything about _me,_ but no one else?

"Everyone keeps saying that, but you guys aren't telling me _ what _it is that I'm forgetting!" Aria suddenly snapped. Apparently, she had heard me.

"I'm sorry." I apologized. "There's just a lot of things… that once were important to you, but aren't anymore."

_Like me. _

"How do you know all this about me?" Aria asked, as I paid for all of our groceries.

I bit my bottom lip, unsure of how to answer her question. "Your parents and I are good friends. They talk about you a lot."

She nodded, obviously holding herself back from asking me another round of questions.

During the car ride home, we survived in making small talk. Everything she talked about however, were things I already knew about her. As she rambled on and on about her friends and family, I could not help but let the sadness that was washing over me, fill me up. I felt as if I was in a whole new relationship, but with the same person. I already knew everything about her, yet she could not remember anything about me.

Within the first ten minutes of meeting each other, Aria and I had gotten to know each other better than Aria knew me as of now. It was strange how we were able to connect with each other so easily before, yet now, it was as if a part of her was keeping herself from getting to know me.

_She thinks you're her old English teacher and only her old English teacher, _Ella words from the other day rang throughout my head.

She was right. Although it was going to take so much to help Aria and I get our relationship back to how it was before, I knew that I had no choice if I wanted her back.

…PLL…

After dinner, Ella had to drop a few things off for Mike, since he was going to be staying at his friends' house a little bit longer than planned. I thanked Ella for this, knowing that it was a small way for me to be able to spend more time with Aria. I changed into a pair of sweats and a t-shirt and made my way downstairs, to find Aria sitting on the couch in front of the TV.

"What are you doing?" I sat down beside her.

"Which movie?" She held up _Romeo and Juliet _and _ To Kill a Mockingbird._

I tilted my head to the side in contemplation. _ To Kill a Mockingbird _ was a classic and both one of Aria and my favorites. _Romeo and Juliet, _however, was like an old version of what our relationship used to be: forbidden.

"Leonardo DiCaprio?"

"Always." She nodded.

"Then Romeo and Juliet." I pointed to the disk.

"Good choice." She got up and put the disk in the DVD player before getting up and going into the kitchen. She came back with two bowls of the cookie dough ice cream we had bought earlier.

"You want some?" She handed me a bowl before sitting down beside me on the other end of the couch, obviously wanting to keep a space between us.

As the movie progressed, I realized that Aria and I had moved closer and closer to each other. The empty bowls of ice cream lay forgotten on the floor. By the rolling credits, neither Aria nor I had noticed that Aria's head was now lying on my chest and that I was playing with a small lock of her silky hair, twirling it around my finger and letting it fall. As soon as the movie ended, we both realized what we had done. To Aria, it had to look wrong. She immediately jumped up from the couch, almost knocking the bowls of ice cream over.

"I-I'm sorry." She whispered. I did not know if she was speaking about how she had ended up halfway in my lap or that she had knocked the bowls over. However, I had a feeling that I knew exactly what she meant.

…PLL…

I quietly knocked on Aria's door about half an hour later. After a few seconds passed without an answer, I slowly opened up her bedroom door. To my surprise, she had already fallen asleep. When she used to stay at my apartment before I got the job at Hollis, we used to stay up all night talking, cuddling, and just being with each other. I felt a pang in my chest as I recalled those memories. It felt like they had happened so long ago, when in reality, Aria had spent the night at my apartment just last week.

I quietly made my way closer to her sleeping form. Her body was curled under the heavy covers and her hair was sprawled on top of the pillow. She looked so beautiful when she was sleeping. I leaned down and pressed my lips against her forehead, relishing the feeling of her skin against my mouth.

While we were watching the movie, it had reminded me so much of the old times we used to spent together. I knew that we had to create new memories, but it was so painful knowing that all of our old memories meant nothing to her. I was determined to get Aria back, and I knew that this week at the Montgomery's was my chance at doing just that.

**Hope you guys liked this! PLEASE REVIEW! **


	10. Chapter 10

Ezra's POV 

I tossed and turned as I tried to fall asleep. I wished I were holding Aria in my arms right now. I never have had any problems trying to sleep when she's beside me. I opened my eyes and stared at the ceiling. The pouring rain pounded against the rooftop of the Montgomery house. I glanced at the clock that read 3:28am. I turned to the end table beside my bed to grab my _To Kill a Mockingbird _book, but it was not there.

A sigh escaped my lips as I realized that I had left it downstairs in the living room. Knowing that there was no way I was going to be able to fall asleep again, I slowly pushed the warm covers off of me as I got out of bed. I quietly made my way downstairs in search for my book.

…PLL…

Aria's POV

I let out a yawn as I watched the raindrops race down the window. I looked down at the book in my hands. I had found it sitting on the coffee table beside the couch earlier. I ran my fingers across the cover of the book. I turned the front page to see Ezra's name inscribed in black ink on the inside of the cover. I flipped a few pages, skimming the words but not taking anything in. From the creased pages, highlighted quotes, and notes in the margins, I knew that he had read this book multiple times. I bit my lip as I tried to hold back a smile. My book was in the same condition as his: tattered, old, and worn out. It had been my favorite book since the first time I read it.

I jumped a little as I heard a creak from the staircase, alerting me of someone's presence. I quickly closed the book and set it back on the coffee table.

I closed my eyes for a moment. However, instead of seeing pitch black, a classroom entered my mind.

_I took a deep breath before walking into the classroom. All eyes turned to me as I passed by Mr. Fitz's desk and set down my rejected transfer slip on it. I sat down in my desk, and pulled out my To Kill a Mockingbird book from my bag, avoiding eye contact with him. I took a deep breath as I opened my book up to a random page. From the corner of my eye, I saw his eyes look up from the paper and at me. I slowly looked up, to see that he was watching me intently. I gave him a small smile, knowing that there had to be some way we could figure this out between us. As he broke our gaze, I let out a sigh, not knowing where we were going from here._

Obviously, something had happened between Ezra and I while he taught at Rosewood. There had to be an explanation for all these weird memories.

Ezra appeared in front of me, a moment later, in nothing but a pair of plaid pajama pants.

I felt myself blushing as I took in the sight of his perfectly toned abs. His hair was a mess, but somehow, it looked more adorable that way. His lips were curved upward into a small smile as if he knew I was checking him out.

What was wrong with me? He used to be my teacher! Why does the guy who gives me butterflies in my stomach have to be my teacher?

"Can't sleep?" He asked me quietly, whisking me out of my thoughts.

I shook my head as he sat down beside me.

"Me either. This rain…" He trailed off, staring out the window.

"I like it." I said quietly. "It's... Relaxing."

"Ezra?" I asked softly.

"Hmm?" He turned to me.

"What happened between us?"

He looked at me for a moment, clearly debating on how to answer my question.

"Do you want to go for a ride?" He randomly asked, avoiding my question completely.

"Where? It's like 3:45 in the morning." I furrowed my brows in confusion. Where in the world would he want to go at this time of night?

"My apartment."

I shrugged, accepting his offer. I really did not have anything better to do.

After running back upstairs to grab a shirt, he led me out the door and to his car.

There was just something about that car that was significant, but I was having immense difficulty in placing it.

"So what's a cute guy like you doing, spending your week helping your old student get her memories back? Isn't your girlfriend like, freaking out?" I chuckled, trying to get to know more about Ezra.

"She's… busy worrying about other things right now." He answered carefully, as he continued staring at the road ahead of him.

"What's she like?" I asked curiously.

"She's…" His face broke into a smile. "Compassionate, beautiful, smart, funny… everything I could possibly ask for in a woman and more. There aren't enough words in the world to describe her properly."

"I'd love to meet her." I suggested, hoping he would let me. The way he talked about her was with such a large amount of love and admiration, that I could not imagine her being anything less than perfect.

Ezra's POV 

When Aria asked me what my girlfriend was like, I could not think of enough words to give her an answer I would be satisfied with. When I described herself to her, I had to stop myself from leaning over and kissing her. I had not realized how painful this actually was until she asked me about a girlfriend. How does one tell about their girlfriend to their girlfriend? I knew that I could not lie to her, but I could not bring myself to admit the truth either.

I planned on taking her to my apartment, hoping that she would remember something, anything, from seeing it again. Before her accident, my apartment had practically been her second home.

As I pulled into the parking lot, I glanced at Aria to see if the surroundings had sparked up any memories.

To my dismay, her expression of deep thought did not change.

I let out a sigh and slumped back against the seat in frustration.

"Have you remembered… anything?"

She turned to me with confusion written all over her face.

"This," I gestured outside. "Doesn't look familiar in any way?"

She shook her head.

I put my head in my hands for a moment, truly not knowing what to do anymore. Nothing was working. Her memories were not coming back, no matter how hard I tried.

"Aria…" I bit my lip, as I felt my eyes begin to water. "I'm going to take you somewhere right now…" I paused, finally turning to look at her. "If _ anything _enters your mind, memory or not, tell me. Please… I need you to remember…" I softly trailed off, not taking my eyes off her beautiful face.

Aria's POV 

He looked so sad and broken. I just wanted to assure him that everything was going to be okay. That everything with this girl would work out in the end. I had no idea why he cared so much about me, or why he was trying so hard to help me remember everything that I have forgotten.

I followed him out of the car, but as I took one last look at the oh-so-familiar car, a random memory crossed my mind.

_As I exited the coffee shop, I was greeted by buckets of pouring rain. I let out a small sigh. Knowing that I was about to get drenched, I clutched my rain jacket tightly around me with one hand and held my warm coffee in the other. It had been a really bad idea to leave my car at home. I ducked my head down as I quickly walked down the sidewalk. I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and saw a car slowing beside me, from the corner of my eye. I stopped as I glanced inside the window, to see Mr. Fitz watching me. He had a conflicted look on his face; as if he did not know whether or not he should stop for me. Our gaze held for a moment, before he turned away from me. I continued watching him, not knowing what he was going to choose. I stood there forgetting about the rain, as I saw his break lights turn on. My heart rate quickened, as the silver car slowed. I took a deep breath as the passenger door of his car swung open. I glanced behind me, making sure that no one was watching, before sprinting towards his car. He actually stopped for me. He continued driving, after I closed the door behind me. I set my coffee down in the cup holder beside me as we remained silent, unsure of what to say to each other._

What was going on? Why were the moments I was remembering so weird? They ended so abruptly that I knew there had to be more than I was actually seeing.

I shook my head, as I followed Ezra into the building.

**So I know that this was kind of flash back heavy, but I'm already on chapter ten and she's only remembered one memory. I originally only wanted this story to be about twenty chapters, but at the rate I'm going, it's going to be forty and I really don't want that. So sorry about that. If you have ANY ideas please, please, let me know! I'm completely open to suggestions or ideas! Remember, I'm writing this for YOU! I don't want it to get too boring of her just remembering more and more and then her and Ezra getting together again and then happily ever after. Anyways, please please please let me know what you guys want to happen or any idea's and PLEASE REVIEW! **


	11. Chapter 11

**Sorry this took so long, my week has been crazy with school and homework! **

**Thanks so much for your reviews! : Anonymous, Nikkip, Nikki, Anonymous, EmilyJo95, Ashley, PrettyLittleBethany, Bite-me-im-irish, SolitudeMyLove, HarrylovesGinny09, ezrialove, Ezriacrazyyy, EzriaAddicted, Kay, PrettyLittleSwifty13, ezriaFTW, AJMcGough, thehelloitsme, Anonymous, nightmares,and,dreamers! **

**Let's pretend that Aria's dreams in 2x09 were real: Something all of us wanted. **

**This is dedicated to AJMcGough. She'll know why when she finishes the chapter :) **

Ezra's POV 

As soon as I walked into my apartment, I began to wonder whether or not I had done the right thing by bringing Aria here. As she walked through the door, her eyes scanned across the room, only to be clouded with disappointment. I had no idea what had just crossed her mind, but there was no way it had been good.

I purposely did not clean my apartment before bringing her here, hoping that when she saw some of the things scattered everywhere, it would jog her memory of me.

The paper bags that we had used when we had taken our first picture together were still sitting on top of my bookshelf, as they had been during the past few months.

Her random articles of clothing and make up items that she had left here over time still remained dispersed about the apartment, suggesting that I was not the only one living here.

Her tattered copy of _To Kill a Mockingbird _lay on my desk, forgotten from the last time she stayed over.

Aria's POV

I watched Ezra as he led me into his apartment building. I noticed a newfound confidence in him and began to wonder about him again. I was obviously important to him or else he would not be working so hard to help me get my lost memories back.

Based on all of the memories I had remembered about him, we had been good friends in the past. Excitement began to surge through me at the thought of rebuilding my friendship with him again. He was cute, and those blue eyes of his were irresistible. If I was lucky, we might be able to become more than friends in the future. I could not help but wonder what it would feel like to have his soft lips forcefully on mine. To have his muscular body pressed up against mine as his fingers tangled in my hair. To have his hands wrapped around me, holding me close.

I shook my head. He said he had a girlfriend! He probably thought of me as nothing more than his old student!

However, he must have been important to me because of all the time we had spent together in the past. I had such a hard time figuring out what exactly had happened between us whenever I remembered pieces of my memories with him. It seemed like every time I began to remember something that had to do with Ezra, I was missing a piece. It was if I was not seeing the whole memory and there was more to the story than my mind was revealing. Each time I felt like I had an answer to one of my questions, another question arose.

As soon as I followed Ezra into his apartment, I realized that I had no chance against this girl of his.

"Sorry, I know it's a mess… but some of it might help." He said, gesturing around the cluttered apartment.

Books were stacked side by side on the bookshelf against the wall. His desk was cluttered with stacks of papers that needed to be graded and pictures of his friends and family. On the coffee table beside the couch were three bottles of nail polish. A woman's black jacket was strewn across the top of an armchair beside the couch. A purse that had been left behind was lying against the wall near the door next to us. An old typewriter sat atop an end table near the window.

I could not help but smile as I walked over to it, wanting to touch it and make sure it was real.

I pressed a key before looking up to find Ezra watching me with a small smile on his face.

"What?" I asked, unsure of why he was watching me like that.

He shook his head and did not respond.

I turned back to the bookshelf beside me as I scanned through some of the titles. I smiled as I saw some of the same classics sitting on his shelf that were on mine.

I turned around, taking another look at his apartment. It was so _ him, _with the books sprawled everywhere. However, as soon as I spotted his bed, a flash of vision crossed through my mind.

This memory was unlike any other I had remembered. Instead of revisiting it from my own point of view, it was like I was watching it happen, as if I was going back in time. I was in Ezra's apartment. I looked around me, but nothing was any different than it was at that moment. The same items lay scattered on the coffee table and the same black jacket lay sprawled across the head of the armchair.

I quickly turned around as I heard a rustling coming from the other side of the apartment. Tangled up in the sheets of his bed, were Ezra and a brunette girl. Their bodies were pressed tightly against each other as they kissed feverishly. I felt guilty and confused as I saw them. Why was I remembering this? Was this a memory? Had I been in the room when this had happened?

Although I was remembering something so intimate between him and his girlfriend, I could not stop myself from moving closer, anxious to find out whom this mystery girl was. What made her so perfect. Why he loved her so much.

I gasped loudly as I got a clearer view of the girl.

It was _ me. _

What the hell had he done to me to get me in that bed with him? Had he raped me?

Ezra's POV

I watched Aria uneasily as she slowly walked around my apartment. Was this going to help in any way? What was she going to remember? There were so many possible memories that could enter her mind from seeing my apartment again, since most of the time we spent together while I was her teacher was in this very room.

Her fingers traced across every unfamiliar surface, and she paused and played with everything that interested her, similar to the way she had the first time I had invited her to my apartment.

I watched her as she turned around, surveying everything around her. All of a sudden, she froze in the middle of the room.

Confused, I slowly walked towards her.

"Aria?" I asked, unsure of why she had suddenly stopped moving.

She had a far away look in her eyes and she had turned a ghostly shade of white.

I turned to figure out what she was staring at, and quickly realized that it was my bed. It was the only item in the corner of the room that she was staring at.

As she came back to reality, a sigh of relief escaped my lips.

However, as soon as she spoke, the spark of happiness that had previously filled me quickly evaporated.

"What have you done to me?" Aria whispered to me as she slowly tore her eyes away from the bed to look up at me. The heartbreaking and fearful look in her eyes made my heart ache at the pain she was in.

What was wrong? What was that look in her eyes? What was she talking about?

"What are you-" I began, but was interrupted.

"Take me home. Now." She whispered icily.

"Aria, what's wrong?" I reached for her hands, wanting to take them in mine to comfort her, but she quickly pulled away as if my touch would burn her.

"Stop." She cried, as her eyes begun to water.

I was beyond confused. What was going on? Why wouldn't she talk to me?

"Take. Me. Home."

The look in her eyes confirmed that it would be in my best interest if I did not ask any more questions.

Confused, I grabbed my keys and followed her out the door. She silently got back into my car.

I watched as she stared straight ahead of her, not moving an inch or acknowledging anything around her.

The ride back to Aria's house was silent; I was too scared to say anything. She refused to let me into her mind and share with me what was bothering her so much. Had she remembered something that had scared her? Plenty of scary things had happened to Aria, but I could not understand why she could not she tell me about it.

As soon as we reached her house, she jumped out of the car.

"Ari-" I cried out, wanting to know what was wrong, but she interrupted me.

"Stay away from me!" She yelled, without turning back to look at me.

I ran after her as she entered the house. Grabbing her hand, I spun her around, forcing her to face me.

"What happened?" I demanded. What had caused her to act this way towards me? She had been so open to me earlier, but now it was as if she was mad at me.

"I don't know what the hell you've done to me, but stay away!" She stumbled backwards, clearly scared as she tried to get further and further away from me.

With that, she ran off towards her bedroom, slamming the door behind her with an earth shattering force.

What the hell had happened? What had she remembered that made her act this way towards me?

As soon as she had seen my bed, she had frozen. But we had never had sex, so clearly that was not what she had been remembering. Sure, we have had our fair share of make out sessions in my bed when she slept over, but why would she have run away from me like this if that was what she was remembering? Wouldn't she have asked me about it? Or figured out for herself that we had been together at one point?

The look in her eyes had shown immense fear. What was she afraid of though? I could not recall anything bad happening to her while she had been with me in my apartment. There had to be something that was making her act this way!

What did she think I had done to her? Had she finally remembered an intimate moment we had spent together? Had she remembered a kiss we had shared? If that was it, it would have only confused her, since she knows that I used to be her teacher! There was no reason that remembering a moment when we had kissed should have scared her!

I leaned against the wall beside me for support as I closed my eyes. The tears that had been building up in my eyes finally fell. I felt as though I had lost Aria. For real this time. And I had no way of getting her back.

**Hope you liked it and PLEASE REVIEW! The more reviews, the faster I update! **


	12. Chapter 12

**Thank you all so much for your lovely reviews! : pllezria4everrr, AddictedtoFICS, NighttimeLover, Anonymous, Mlollylucy, meb2289, EzriaAddicted, Cool Story, Ezria Lover, Kali, Dutchie, HarrylovesGinny09, bite-me-im-irish, Susie, StarWriter101, PrettyLittleSwifty13, ShaunyStudcee, St0ryTeller SolitudeMyLove, Ezrialove, krazyfan1, LIFE IS A GOOD DRUG, TheCdKnight, and nightmares,and,dreamers! **

Ezra's POV

I slowly trudged back to the guest bedroom of the Montgomery house as I wiped away the few tears that had fallen from my eyes.

What did Aria think I had done to her? She kept telling me to stay away from her but she refused to explain why.

What could she have possibly remembered at my apartment that had scared her away? We had so many memories of moments spent at my apartment, yet would not tell me which one she had remembered!

Had she remembered when I told her about Jackie? That should not have scared her like this!

She could have remembered when she told me about her dad's affair. That may have scared her away since she realized how much I really knew about her.

But I knew it had to be something more.

Aria had seemed petrified on the ride back home to her house. She refused to speak one word or even acknowledge my presence beside her!

Our relationship has never been easy, but none of the hardships had ever mattered because our love for each other was always able to overcome it all!

Was this it? Was this the end? A sign that I should just give up now?

Just when things were starting to become better between us, something had to destroy that happiness.

Aria's POV

As soon as I stepped foot into my room, I slammed the door behind me and collapsed onto my bed. My most recent memory of Ezra had revealed so much. It had revealed the truth that he did not want me to know. That he feared me knowing.

How could he do something like this to me? I trusted him! My family trusted him! We're letting him stay at our house! He came to visit me in the hospital! He acted like he actually cared about me! He really fooled us all.

When had he taken advantage of me like this? How many times had this happened?

I wished that my accident had never occurred. I so desperately wanted my life to just go back to how it used to be.

I got up from the bed and slowly walked over to my dresser. I picked up a picture of Hanna, Spencer, Emily, Ali, and I. I ran my index finger across the glass surface on top of Ali's figure.

Where had she gone? Everyone refused to tell me the truth about where she was.

Even Ezra, when I had asked him about Ali, had refused to tell me where she was.

After my accident, all the girls came to visit me in the hospital except Ali. Did she not care enough about me to come see me?

Ezra had kissed me while I was in the hospital. His lips against mine had felt foreign and wrong. Like a fake, or a cheat.

I took a deep breath as I wiped away a few tears with the back of my hand.

What does he want from me? My parents see him as such a great guy, but what are they going to think when they find out that he took advantage of me like this? That he hurt me in such a cruel and bitter way?

It is twisted, really, how he put on such a great act, and led everyone to believe that he was a good guy. He even managed to fool me, until my mind revealed the truth.

Ezra's POV

I sat down on the bed and put my head in my hands as my mind raced.

How was I going to fix this?

I had such a strong feeling that bringing Aria to my apartment was going to help her remember something about our relationship!

As I heard a knock on the door, I lifted my head from my hands.

"Come in," I said softly.

The door opened slowly and to my surprise, Ella walked in.

"Where were you and Aria this morning?" She closed the door behind her and leaned her body against the desk in the corner of the room.

"Uh, I-I took her to my apartment. To see if… She could remember anything." I trailed off.

"Did it help?" She asked curiously.

"Does it look like it?" I raised my brows at her before letting out a painful sigh.

She shook her head, noting my tear-stained cheeks and slumped posture.

"Why don't you come downstairs, I'll make some coffee, and we can talk about it? If you want me to talk to her, I will."

I looked at Ella for a moment, before responding. She actually wanted me to fix this. She truly wanted Aria and I to get back together again. She _ wanted _Aria to remember me.

"Sure." I said quietly, and followed her out of the room.

I sat down at the table in the kitchen and thanked Ella as she handed me a steaming mug of coffee.

She sat down beside me with a mug of her own and asked, "What happened?"

I shook my head, unsure of the answer myself.

"I-I don't know." I confessed. "I took her to my apartment and she started looking around and then she suddenly just froze. Then she freaked out and forced me to take her home."

"Do you think she remembered something about you?" Ella asked curiously as she brought her cup to her lips.

"Yeah, definitely, but she won't tell me _ what." _

Aria would never understand how stubborn she was sometimes. When I wanted or needed her to open up and know that I was there for her, she refused to let me in. She put up a charade of being so strong and she rarely ever lets the wall she has built up come crumbling down.

"What was looking at when she froze?"

"The bed." I stated dryly.

Ella pursued her lips at me. Before she could reply, I quickly spoke, "We've never done _anything _so I don't know what the hell she was remembering."

Ella's expression softened at my words as she propped her elbow on the table and rested her cheek in her hand.

"I could talk to her if you'd like… If you think it'll help." Ella offered.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes for a moment before responding.

"Although I would love nothing more than that, I know that I can't force this on her. It would just be too much for her to handle."

Ella nodded respectively.

"Well if you change your mind, I'm here." Ella smiled.

…PLL…

Ezra's POV

I awoke with a jolt as a piercing scream filled my ears. I threw the heavy comforter off of me and made a mad dash for Aria's bedroom. I flung open the door to find Aria sitting up in her bed with tears streaming down her face. Without thinking twice, I quickly climbed onto her bed and wrapped her petite body in my arms.

I held her close against me as she continued to sob. Despite her previous discomfort with me, she buried her head in my chest as she soaked my t-shirt with her salty tears.

"Shh." I soothed as I tightened my arms around her, hoping to provide her with some sort of comfort. I ran my fingers through her silky hair before kissing the top of her head as I rocked her body with mine. I held her tightly against me while whispering random words of comfort into her ear.

Ella's POV

A high-pitched scream awoke me from my dreamless sleep. I quickly sat up in bed, as my mind tried to place the sound.

It was Aria.

I glanced at the clock that read 2:07am before quickly jumping out of bed. I grabbed my robe from the foot of my bed and pulled it tightly around me, before leaving my bedroom. As I got closer and closer to Aria's bedroom door, I heard heavy sobs coming from the other side. I was about to burst into the room, but I froze when I heard a deep voice speak.

I leaned against the door in an attempt to hear the voice coming from inside better.

"Shh… Shh… It's okay." The man comforted her.

I knew without a doubt that it was Ezra.

I slowly made my way back to my bedroom, knowing that he would be able to help her.

I just hoped that Aria would accept his help, instead of running away.

Aria's POV 

As Ezra held my body against his and wrapped his arms me, I wanted to push him away. However, as much as I wanted to, I could not ignore the fact that his arms felt _ good _ around me. I finally felt _safe. _

Ezra's POV

I held Aria in my arms as she continued to sob. My heart ached to see her in such a broken state. The normally enthusiastic, bubbly, upbeat girl was now crying uncontrollably.

"Alison's dead? Isn't she?" Aria whispered as she looked up at me with teary eyes.

I knew that the answer was going to break her heart, yet I knew that I could not lie to her.

I regretfully nodded as I watched as more tears cascade down Aria's face.

"I'm so sorry." I whispered to her, as I tightened my arms around her.

She balled the front of my shirt in her fist as she cried into my chest. Her body shook with the tears that overtook her, as I stroked her hair from the crown of her head down to her back.

As she continued to sob loudly, I rubbed soothing circles on her shoulders, trailing down to her back. I just wanted to take her pain away.

"How did you figure it out?" I asked her a few minutes later, as her sobs began to subside.

"I-I had a dream…" She began as she looked up at me with glassy hazel eyes. She opened her mouth to speak again but no words came out.

"Shh…" I comforted her again. "It's okay… It's gonna be okay. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"I was driving… down her street and…" Aria scrunched her eyes together as more tears fell down her cheeks. "I remembered seeing all the police cars and ambulances,

and… then walking into the church for her funeral… When I saw the black casket, I knew that I couldn't deny it any longer…" Aria wailed as she buried her head in my chest and started to cry once again.

"Honey, it's okay…" I whispered as I kissed the top of her head, inhaling the delicious scent of her shampoo.

"She's _dead _ Ezra. Alison's dead." Aria's small hands clutched at the material of my shirt as she pulled me tighter against her. I held her against me as I began to plant kisses in her hair once again.

I took her face between my hands as I looked into her eyes. I used the pad of my thumb to wipe away a stray tear as I pushed a lock of hair away from her face.

"Aria, it's going to be okay. It's all going to be okay." I whispered to her.

Her eyes had a heartbroken gaze etched all over them.

I knew that this was my chance.

Aria's eyes never left mine as fresh hot tears streamed down her rosy cheeks.

I moved closer to her, gauging her reaction to my action.

She did not move away and I took that as a good sign.

This was it. Her response to this kiss would change everything for us.

As I held her face between my hands I moved ever so slightly closer to her, watching closely for her reaction.

Her heavy breath fanned my face before my lips finally met hers, her lips, as soft as the inside of a rose.

**So I know you all are probably very frustrated that I ended it there, but I couldn't resist! How will she react? Hope you guys liked this chapter, and PLEASE REVIEW! **


	13. Chapter 13

**Louismarie, thank you so much for your review! That's so sweet! **

**I got such a huge response from the last chapter! There were way too many to thank everyone up here, so in shorter words, THANK YOU! 32 reviews? Holy crap. **

**Anyone see the new promo? Ezria hugging in the rain! Ahh! **

**The first part of this might be confusing, but it's the end of the last chapter in Aria's POV instead of Ezra's. **

"_Alison's dead? Isn't she?" I whispered to Ezra as I looked up at him with tears brimming the edge of my eyes. _

_As soon as he began to nod in response to my question, I closed my eyes as another round of sobs escaped my lips. _

_How had she died? Why had no one told me? Everyone had lied to me and kept such a big part of my life from me! _

_I clutched his body closer to me as I cried into his chest, staining his t-shirt with my salty tears. He tightened his arms around me, providing me with a much-needed sense of comfort. I knew that I was safe in his arms. He would not let anything hurt me. He held me close to him and pressed kisses to the top of my head as my sobs finally began to subside. _

"_How did you figure it out?" His velvety voice echoed throughout the dark room. _

"_I-I had a dream…" I began, but was unable to finish as the thoughts plagued my mind again, bringing a fresh round of sobs to me. _

_"Shh…" He comforted me again. "It's okay… It's gonna be okay. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."_

_I wanted to tell him though. I shook my head and took a deep breath, preparing myself to explain my dream. _

_"I was driving… down her street and…" I scrunched my eyes together as more tears fell down my cheeks. "I remembered seeing all the police cars and ambulances, and… then walking into the church for her funeral… When I saw the black casket, I knew that I couldn't deny it any longer…" I wailed, as I buried my head in Ezra's chest and started to cry once again._

_"Honey, it's okay…" He whispered to me as he kissed the top of my head, letting his mouth linger there for a moment._

_"She's __dead __Ezra. Alison's dead." My small hands clutched at the material of his shirt as I pulled him tighter against me, needing to feel his body against mine. I relaxed a little as he tightened his arms around me and held me close to him. He began to plant kisses in my hair once again._

_Ezra took my face between his hands and we looked into each other's eyes. I felt his thumb graze my cheek as he wiped away a stray tear and lock of hair from my face. _

_"Aria, it's going to be okay. It's all going to be okay." He whispered to me, his eyes never leaving mine._

_I shook my head as more tears cascaded down my face. How did he know that? Alison was dead. It would never be okay again. _

_He held my face between his hands, providing me with a comfort I could not identify. _

_I froze as he moved his face closer to mine. _

_He was going to kiss me. _

_My hands became clammy and my heartbeat sped up in nervousness. _

_Was it bad that there was a small part of me that wanted him to? _

_All of a sudden, his lips were against mine. _

I kissed Ezra back forcefully, as my body took over, my mind disregarding everything I had previously told myself about him. A jolt of energy surged through me as he tangled his fingers in my hair. I wrapped my arms around his neck, as I crawled closer to him, pressing my body flush against his. His lips were soft and warm and felt so good against my own. Ezra's hands came up to cup my face as he deepened the kiss between us. I tightened my arms around his neck and crushed my body against his, enjoying the feeling his lips against mine brought.

We both struggled to catch our breath when we broke apart, however, Ezra's lips did not leave my skin. Instead, he trailed kisses down my neck and shoulder, before bringing his mouth back to mine and kissing me hungrily. The way he kissed me was like this was going to be our only kiss. As if he had missed kissing me and was going to take full advantage of this one moment that we had together.

And I was completely fine with that.

I was about to open my mouth to give him entrance as I felt his tongue trace my lower lip.

All of a sudden, my mind realized what my body was doing. I was kissing the man who had abused me! I was kissing the man who had hurt me! I immediately tore my mouth away from his as I frantically pushed his arms that were wrapped around my waist, off of me.

I looked at him in disbelief and anger as I felt the tears gather in my eyes again. How could he fool me like this? What kind of a man was he?

"Aria," He spoke in a broken voice, breathing heavily as he looked at me in confusion.

When I did not respond, he reached for my hands to hold in his, but I quickly pulled them out of his reach.

"Get out." I said sternly, as I wiped away my tears with the back of my hand.

"Wh-" Ezra began, before I pointed towards my bedroom door.

"Leave, now." I demanded.

He took one last glance at me and I could not help but notice the heartbreak that was so clearly visible in his eyes.

I continued to stare at the door, not really looking at anything.

Why had my life come to this? What had Ezra done to me?

I curled up into a ball as I brought my knees up to my chest and rested my forehead on my knees. I continued to sob for myself, Ezra, and for everything I have put him through during these past few weeks.

When Ezra had kissed me, it was if the whole world had stopped. No one had mattered but him. His lips felt so good against mine, and so _ right. _

How could he cheat on his girlfriend so easily? The girlfriend whom he had talked so highly about. The girlfriend who was so perfect.

Did she not matter to him at all? Obviously he no longer loved her, because he kissed me! If I had kissed him, it would have been different, but I hadn't.

He had actually led me to believe that he was a good person. He was always so nice to me and acted like he cared so damn much about me.

And the problem was, before I remembered the memory of him and I in his bed together, I had begun to think that something could spark up between us in the future. And then I saw his bed… and all hope was lost.

I wrapped my arms around my waist but it did not provide me with the comfort I was craving. More tears cascaded down my cheeks as I envisioned Ezra's strong arms around me, holding me against his chest.

Why did the person I want to be with have to hurt me? He had ruined any chance we ever had of being together!

I shivered as a cold gust of air hit me. I felt so lonely and so lost. I had lost the one person who I thought I could rely on. Who I thought would be there for me when he needed me.

And when he had kissed me…

I whimpered, wishing I could feel his lips against mine again.

I looked out the window to see raindrops racing down the window. It was dark outside, and all I could see was rain pouring down heavily onto the street.

I closed my eyes and let out a sigh.

A flood of images rushed in and out my mind.

_Ezra finally turned to me. As soon as our eyes met, we both leaned over. Our mouths eagerly met and we kissed each other hungrily. His warm mouth felt good against my cold skin. The rain pounded against the hood of the car, only making the moment more romantic. _

"_We're both here now. Can't we just… be happy that we have that?" I asked desperately. Ezra stared at me for a moment as he processed my words, before taking two steps towards me. He took my face in his hands and lifted it up, before crushing his lips against mine. _

"_Forgive me," Ezra said quietly, his eyes never leaving my face. "No." I stubbornly said back, as I willed myself not to fall so easily into his trap. Ezra moved his face closer to mine and I could feel his breath fanning my face. "Forgive me." Ezra whispered. A small sigh escaped my lips, before I crushed my lips against his, kissing him with all the passion and anger that had been building up inside of me since he had come back to Rosewood. He was somewhat startled from my eagerness, but he was quick to hungrily kiss me back. _

"_I love you," I whispered to him. He looked at me, startled, but with immense love reflected in his eyes. I placed my hands on either side of his face, and leaned up to kiss him. _

"_Ezra," I choked out, as I ran across the parking lot of the school. He caught me in his arms and brought my face to his, as our lips met in a passionate kiss. _

More tears escaped my eyes as all these memories of Ezra and I quickly played through my mind. Our relationship had once been something so beautiful, and now, the passionate love that we had once felt towards each other was destroyed. I had no idea how we had gotten together since he was once my teacher, but at that moment, all I knew was that based off of my memories, we had felt more than a physical attraction towards each other.

I quickly turned away from the window as I heard a knock on my door. Without waiting for my approval to enter, the door opened to reveal Ezra standing at the other side.

He stood there for a moment, as we stared at each other.

From all my memories, we clearly had been in a relationship.

He had not raped me.

He had never hurt me.

My mind had just revealed the truth to me at the wrong time.

I wanted to be with him so badly, but there was a part of me that kept telling me that we never could go back to however it was that our relationship had been before.

"What happened?" I whispered desperately.

The look in his eyes confirmed that he knew that I was talking about our relationship, and not about the kiss we had just shared.

"Are you ready?" He asked, as he studied my every move. "To hear about it?"

I nodded in response.

"Are you sure you can handle it?"

"Please." I begged, needing to know the truth.

A small sigh escaped his lips before he closed the gap between our bodies and took me in his arms. I wrapped my arms around his back as he held me against him. He kissed the top of my head and we remained in each other's arms for a moment.

Once again, I felt safe. I felt loved. The feelings that were rushing through me only made me more desperate for the truth.

He released his hold on me. To give him a boost of confidence, I pressed my lips against his. He immediately kissed me back and tangled his fingers in my hair. I pressed one final kiss to his lips, before pulling away.

"I'm the girl, aren't I?" I asked him knowingly.

"You've always been her." He whispered passionately.

**So I was reading over some reviews people have left me in this story and Late Night's. Late Night's had more people say they cried during certain chapters, but seriously, do some of my chapters in my stories really make you guys cry? I don't even know what to say to that. That's like the greatest compliment I have ever been given! **

**Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed this! They're finally getting back together! There's only going to be a few more chapters in this story, it definitely will not be more than 18. If there's anything in particular you want to see before I end this story, let me know. Anyways, let me know what you guys thought and PLEASE REVIEW! **


	14. Chapter 14

**Thank you so much for your reviews! Catherin945, PrettyLittleFan, PLLisLove, Elizabeth, FearlessLove1313, pllezria4everrr, AJMcGough, nightmares,and,dreamers, LisPar, HarrylovesGinny09, HandswithRoses, bite-me-im-irish, StarWriter101, ilyezriaforeverandeveerr, SolitudeMyLove, Nikki, ezrialove, St0ryTeller, msbookworm93, EzriaAddicted, Britt, Mlollylucy, Ezria17, PrettyLittleSwifty13, Shaunaclause13hotmail,com, thehelloitsme, PrettyLittleBethany, LIFE IS A GOOD DRUG, overload-j, TheWallFlower13, and Notinyourlifetimehoney! 31 reviews? You are so amazing! Thank you all so much! **

"Come here," I whispered, as I opened my arms, welcoming Aria into an embrace. I sat down on her bed and leaned my back against the wall. She rested her head on my chest as I held her against me.

I savored the feeling that came with holding Aria in my arms. It was one I had missed for so long.

"What do you want to know?"

She tilted her head to look up at me for a moment. "Everything. How did we get together if you were my teacher? Do my parents know that we were together? What did the school say when they found out? Oh my God, were you fired? Am I the reason you don't work at Rosewood anymore?"

"Aria, Aria! Calm down," I chuckled, as I watched her freak out over nothing. "You've got it all wrong." I assured her.

She looked at me in confusion, as she waited for me to continue.

"I quit my job at Rosewood high so we could be together. I didn't want to continue to keep you from having a real relationship."

"So we were together while you were my teacher? How did that happen?" She asked. "Were we just not able to control our feelings around each other so we got together?"

I shook my head.

"I met you at a pub before school started. You had just come back from Iceland and you looked so lonely, so I chatted you up. We ended up making out in the bathroom and the next day at school, we realized that I was your teacher. We tried to stay away from each other and ignore our feelings for each other, but we always ended up back together. I quit my job at Rosewood a few weeks ago. We were getting ready to tell your parents about our relationship, but then you had your accident, and we never got to. I ended up telling Ella about us the night you were admitted into the hospital, otherwise she never would have let me stay at your house."

"And my parents are okay with us being together?" Aria asked.

I remained quiet for a moment before answering her question. Ella had accepted us as a couple, but Byron had yet to find out.

"Your father and Mike don't know yet," I confessed.

Just because Ella had accepted Aria and I as a couple, did not mean that Byron would. I could see it happening now; Byron accusing me of corrupting his daughter and telling me I could never see her again. He would tell me that I abused her and that I brainwashed her into thinking that I actually cared for her.

At this thought, I held Aria tighter against me and pressed a kiss into her hair. I couldn't lose her. Not now. Not after we finally were beginning to get our relationship back.

"My dad would never allow this." Aria said, her voice filled with worry. "He cheated on my mom with a student of his! I'm practically following his bad example!"

"No," I whispered. "What you and I had-" I began but quickly corrected myself. "Have, isn't a mistake. It's the furthest thing from it." I shook my head.

"Ali would kill me for this." Aria said quietly to herself, as she looked down. "Dating my teacher."

"Aria."

As she looked up at me, I was able to read a small amount of regret from her words visible in her eyes.

"Ali can't judge you for this. If it wasn't for you, we never would have stayed together." I sighed as I began to stroke Aria's hair from the crown of her head down to her waist.

"What do you mean?"

I let out a heavy sigh before responding. "When we first found out we were teacher and student, I tried to break off what you and I had begun, but you kept trying to convince me that our relationship was right and that we should follow our hearts instead of our heads. I…"

I stopped stroking Aria's hair for a moment as I lost myself in thought. Aria had fought so hard to keep our relationship together in the beginning, and here I was, trying to do the same thing.

"What's wrong?" She asked quietly, sensing something was wrong since I did not finish my sentence.

"Hey, do you want to leave?" I asked Aria suddenly.

"What?" She asked; confusion etched all over her face.

"Let's just get out of here." I smiled. "I'll tell you more about us, and maybe getting away from here will help you remember more."

"Really?" She asked, as her face broke out into a smile. "We're just going to leave?"

"Just for a few days." I got off the bed and held my hand out to help Aria off the bed. "Come on, it'll be fun."

She smiled in agreement.

"You've cried way too much for one night." I held her against me as I buried my face in her hair. It smelled deliciously like apples.

We stayed like that for a moment before I released her from my embrace.

"I'm just going to grab some clothes and stuff and I'll be back, okay?" I assured her.

She took my face in her hands and gave me one last kiss, before watching me leave her room.

As I left the room, my thoughts could not stop racing.

Aria's memories were finally coming back. Our relationship finally took a turn for the better.

These past few weeks had been the hardest I have ever had to endure. Not being able to hold Aria in my arms or kiss her was so painful.

While we were teacher and student, we had to hide our relationship in the classroom and in public. But when we were alone, we could freely express our love to each other. Those days seemed like a piece of cake compared to what has gone on since Aria's accident.

I grabbed all of the items I had brought with me to the Montgomery household and tossed them back into my bag. After making sure I had not left anything behind, I headed back to Aria's room.

"How's it going?" I leaned against the doorpost of her bedroom as I watched her scurry back and forth in her room.

"You know, it's a miracle that my mom's still asleep. Do you have any idea how loud you are?" She asked as she threw a bag filled with her make up onto her bed.

I chuckled in response, amused by Aria's sudden mood change. I helped her pack up the rest of her clothes for our short trip, before writing a short note to Ella that Aria and I were going to be leaving for a few days to help her try to remember some more of her lost memories. I left the note on the kitchen counter, a place I was sure Ella would find it.

Byron still had no idea about our relationship. What was he going to do when he found out that Aria suddenly skipped town with her ex-English teacher?

As we both climbed into my car and I begun to drive away, I finally had begun to question the sanity of what we were doing.

Aria and I had left. Just like that, without really telling anybody. Leaving a note hardly counted as permission.

Aria shifted through the radio trying to find something to fit in with our unplanned little trip. She stopped on some random pop song and leaned back in her seat. She began to sing along, her smooth voice filling the depths of the car.

The sun began to rise, sending a pink and orange glow across the sky, representing a new day to go along with me and Aria's new beginning.

"Ezra?" Aria asked me, as she lowered the radio down.

"Hmm?"

"Can I ask you something?" She asked cautiously.

"Yeah, of course."

She hesitated for a moment before asking.

"I'm just kind of confused about this whole thing…" She began.

I immediately knew she was talking about our relationship.

"How did we not get caught? Don't most teacher-student relationships end in disaster?"

I could not help but laugh at her question.

"We were good at hiding our feelings in class. Well good enough that no one ever figured it out." I chuckled. "But once we were alone, it was like we could never get enough of each other."

"Didn't you ever tell yourself that our relationship was wrong, after we realized that we couldn't stay away from each other?" She asked curiously. "Didn't you ever wonder about the consequences? What people would say about you and I? What would happen when if we ever got caught?"

I looked at her in disbelief. What had caused her to want the answer to _ those _questions?

I slowed the car to a stop as we reached a red light.

"Of course I did. Like I said earlier, you were the one who convinced me to stay in a relationship with you, despite our twisted situation. Yeah, I knew the consequences and truthfully, the amount of trouble I could get in if we were caught scared me. But it wasn't jail that I was most afraid of…" I paused for a moment and took a deep breath. "It was losing you." I confessed.

In that moment, I realized that I really was willing to risk anything for Aria. She was the most important part of my life. I had no idea what I would do if I ever lost her.

"I stopped caring about the consequences. As long as I was with you, I was happy. I knew that if we did get caught, it would be worth it. I was willing to pay any price as long as I was able to be with you."

"Really?" Aria whispered to me. Her eyes were glassy as she tried to hold back the tears that were forming.

"Really." I smiled. "Aria, I love you. And I'll _always _love you."

…PLL…

We had arrived at our destination two hours later. Aria had spent most of the car ride asleep since we got barely any the night before. As I pulled up beside the cabin, I shut the car off and unbuckled my seatbelt.

I leaned over to Aria and kissed her gently.

"Aria, we're here." I whispered.

"Where are we?" She asked sleepily, as her eyes began to flutter open.

"My parents' cabin."

**Hope you guys liked this, and PLEASE REVIEW! **


	15. Chapter 15

**Thank you so much for your lovely reviews! : StarWriter101, thehelloitsme, EzriaAddicted, being accident prone rocks, cheergirl19961, PrettyLittleSwifty13, SolitudeMyLove, bite-me-im-irish, AJMcGough, PLLisLove, Notinyourlifetimehoney, ilyezriaforeverandeveerr, ezrialove, nightmares,and,dreamers, HarrylovesGinny09, msbookworm93, Mlollylucy, PrettyLittleFan, ezrialove, We-will-always-have-paris, and Nikki! **

Aria's POV

I looked up to see a small but cozy two-story wood cabin.

"Your parents own this?" I shifted in my seat to face Ezra.

"Yeah, we've had it since I was ten. My brother and I used to bring our friends up here all the time." He smiled at me for a moment, before getting out of the car.

I shut the car door behind me before running after Ezra.

"Where are you going?" I asked, as I followed Ezra around the outside of the house instead of through it. As we entered what I assumed was the backyard, I immediately spotted a hammock swaying back and forth in the light wind. Further down was a stone path that led to a glimmering lake.

"This is amazing!" I exclaimed, taking in the beautiful view of the water.

Ezra chuckled beside me, obviously pleased with himself for bringing me here.

All of a sudden, a cold gust of air hit me, causing me to shiver slightly.

Ezra put his arm around me, before whispering in my ear, "Come on, let's get you inside."

I followed Ezra back into the warm cabin. I shrugged my jacket off and sprawled it onto the arm of a nearby chair.

There were so many things I wanted to ask Ezra about, but I was afraid of pushing him away. We were finally getting back to a place where I was comfortable with him again, and I really did not want to lose what we had. But there were so many questions I needed the answers to. What caused my accident in the first place? Why was he and Alison the only people I forgot about?

"You hungry?" Ezra asked from the kitchen. "My parents were here last weekend so the fridge is still stocked." He chuckled.

"Sure." I smiled as I helped him gather some food for breakfast. After rummaging through the kitchen for some pans, we finally made some eggs and bacon.

"Is your mind still racing like crazy?" He chuckled.

"Yeah, sometimes." I nodded. "It's like… there's just so many questions that I have no answers to."

He looked down for a moment before responding. "I'll help with what I can, but I really don't want to overwhelm you."

"I know… it's just…" I sighed. "I wish things could go back to the way they were."

"I know, Aria." Ezra took my hand from across the table. I glanced down at our intertwined hands. My smaller one fit perfectly into his bigger one. As if they were meant to be holding each other.

…PLL…

Ezra's POV 

I finished cleaning up our breakfast as Aria explored the cabin. When I was done, I finally found her lying on the hammock in the backyard, slowly moving back and forth with the wind.

She looked so beautiful, her long dark hair swaying beneath her. She lifted her head and smiled at me. I could not help but smile back as she motioned for me to come over.

In that moment, I realized how truly lucky I was that this beautiful woman fell in love with me.

Her memories were finally starting to resurface and if I was lucky, hopefully all her feelings would too.

I lay down beside her and she rested her head on my chest.

"Thank you for bringing me here." She said softly.

I begun to stroke my fingers through her silky hair before responding, "Anything for you, Aria. Anything for you."

We continued to lie there in a content silence.

These were the moments I truly cherished. When we could be ourselves around each other. When we did not have to worry about what anyone thought or would say about us. When we could freely express our love to each other.

"Ezra?" Aria suddenly asked quietly.

"Hmm?" I continued stroking my fingers through her hair.

She remained silent for a moment before responding.

"Can I ask you something?" She asked cautiously.

"Yeah, of course." I replied.

What could she possibly want to know that made her so hesitant to ask me?

She shifted her body on the hammock so she could face me.

"Earlier today, while we were driving here... I remembered another memory." She began. "The girls and I were at the police station because we had been caught with Ali's murder weapon... And I remembered using my phone call to call _you_. I needed you, but you never came." She closed her eyes for a moment. When she reopened them, they only displayed pain and disappointment.

"Why didn't you come?"

I let out a deep breath as my mind quickly replayed the events of that night.

Aria had called me saying that she had made a mistake and that she needed me.

The sound of her voice during that phone call had crushed my heart. She had sounded so fragile and broken!

To my dismay, however, as soon as I arrived at the police station, Ella had accused me of being with Spencer and had forced me to go home.

"I did come." I finally told Aria. "But as soon as your mother saw me, she told me that she knew why I had come. I thought that she meant she knew about our relationship, since we hadn't gone public by that time, but it turned out for some odd reason, she thought I was dating Spencer. I don't quite know how she got that idea, but she was pretty pissed about it. She told me that I couldn't be there that night. I didn't want to tell her the truth without you by my side, in case she thought I was lying and forced you to be with me. It's unfair how easily people judged us... Especially when they don't even know the whole story..." I trailed off.

"Really?" Aria asked, astonished. "But Spencer's with Toby. My mom knows that."

"I don't know." I shrugged, as Aria snuggled into my embrace once more. "I don't know."

…PLL…

I leaned against the edge of the counter as I waited for the coffee to brew. Aria's memories were still scarcely revealing themselves. I knew they were there, but she was having such a hard time remembering some of them!

When the coffee machine finally beeped, I grabbed two cups from the cupboard and poured the steaming liquid into them.

I entered the living room to find Aria sitting on a large blanket in front of the fireplace. She had a bottle of navy nail polish beside her and was painting her toenails. I handed her a cup of coffee as I sat down beside her on the blanket.

"How do they look?" Aria wiggled her toes as she showed off her freshly painted nails.

"Beautiful." I said softly, my eyes never leaving hers.

She blushed and tore her gaze away from mine as she realized I was not talking about her nails.

The fireplace crackled beside us, providing the room with a sense of comfort in the soothing sound.

I leaned back as I rested my back on the edge of the couch.

Aria finished painting her last toenail before screwing the bottle shut and placing it beside her on the floor.

"Can I ask you something?" Aria looked up at me, curiosity blazing in her eyes.

"Sure, you've been doing it all day." I chuckled as I brought my cup to my lips and took a sip.

She took a deep breath before speaking her mind.

"Do you know who A is?"

The hot liquid scorched my throat and I choked a little as the words left her mouth.

She had forgotten about this A person too? How in the world was I supposed to know who A was? All I knew was that some person named A once broke Aria and I up. I knew that her friends were dealing with something from their past, but Aria had never once come to me about it.

How was I supposed to answer her question when I did not even know the answer myself?

"No idea." I whispered. "How did you remember them?"

She glanced at her phone beside her and I immediately understood.

"I found some texts in my phone... Threats... Telling me that they knew my secrets..." She had a frightened look in her eyes as she spoke. "I think most of them were about you. Stuff like…" Aria picked her phone up and flipped it open before reading the text on the screen. " 'When students kiss teachers, someone gets hurt. That's a promise I'll keep.' and 'maybe he fools around with students all of the time. A lot of teachers do, just ask your dad.' And 'The lover and the scorned are now BFF's. Scared yet? You will be.' "

The look in her eyes portrayed pure fear and anxiety.

"Aria." I took the phone from her hands and placed it on the floor. I moved closer to her and tucked a stay piece of hair behind her ear.

"Whoever it is, I won't let them hurt you anymore. We'll find out who this is together. But for now, I want you to forget about them. Please? Don't let it bother you." I said sympathetically.

I watched Aria as she took a deep breath and nodded. She gave me a small smile, before taking one of my hands in hers.

"Tell me more about us." Aria gently squeezed my hand in hers.

"What else do you want to know?" I chuckled.

"I don't know, anything. What's your favorite memory of us?"

I could not help but laugh as tons of memories of the times Aria and I have spent together swam in and out of my brain.

"The best? It has to be a tie between my last day at Rosewood when we got back together again or…" I could not help but smile as I relived the memory. "The first time you told me you loved me."

"Oh my God." Aria suddenly jumped.

"What? What's wrong?" I asked frantically, startled from her sudden outburst.

"Nothing." She shook her head. "I remember that." She smiled. "I remember when I told you I loved you!"

I could not even begin to explain the feeling of joy that surged through me in that moment.

"Yeah, I came to your apartment and you were going to resign from Rosewood because Noel Khan was going to do something to you, right?"

I nodded. "He was going to expose our relationship. I was still your teacher at the time and he found out about us."

"He was blackmailing you for a better grade on this paper that you gave him a bad grade on, and you said that you weren't going to change the grade and that you wouldn't let him hurt me." Aria paused for a moment. "When you said that, it made me realize that you really did love me and that you would do anything for me." Aria had tears brimming the edges of her eyes as she spoke.

"I do." I gave her a small smile, reassuring her that I really did love her.

"Thank you, Ezra." She smiled genuinely at me a moment later.

"For what?" I laughed lightly.

"For sticking with me through all this." She said seriously, her eyes never leaving my face.

I moved closer to her and met her lips with mine. Although the kiss was short and sweet, it had tremendous meaning.

I was finally getting my Aria back.

…PLL…

"Crap." Aria stated.

I looked up to see her standing in front of the bag she had brought with her as she held her hands on her hips.

"What's wrong?"

"I didn't bring anything to wear to sleep." She sighed as she put her hand on her forehead.

I chuckled, "You can just borrow one of my shirts."

"Really?" She asked, perplexed, but with a small smile on her face.

"Yeah, you used to do it all the time."

She walked over to my bag and pulled out one of my t-shirts.

As she slid it on, she closed her eyes and inhaled in bliss.

"You smell so good."

I could not help but laugh at her statement.

She immediately opened her eyes a moment later and blushed, as she realized what she had said. "I-I didn-, I mea-" She stumbled as she tried to explain herself.

"Aria," I took her hands in mine. "It's okay. I understand exactly what you meant." I smiled.

Aria nodded before looking down, clearly still angry with herself.

"And by the way," Aria looked up as I spoke. "It looks better on you."

I heard a small laugh escape Aria's lips as I made my way into the bathroom to brush my teeth. When both Aria and I had finished getting ready for bed, I plugged my phone into the charger. I looked up to see Aria standing beside the bed, debating which side to get into. Knowing that she slept on the right side, I slid onto the left side, signaling her to take the right.

I reached above my head and shut off the lamp, before Aria nestled herself into my chest. I hugged her against my chest and pressed a kiss into her hair, before quickly dozing off to sleep.

**Hope you guys liked it, and PLEASE REVIEW! **


	16. Chapter 16

**Wow! You guys have no idea how amazing you are! I got such amazingly sweet reviews for the last chapter! : EzriaAddicted, Pretty-Little-Ezria, SolitudeMyLove, nightmares,and,dreamers, MlollyLucy, HandswithRoses, bite-me-im-irish, NataliaRosePLL, Notinyourlifetimehoney, HarrylovesGinny09, PrettyLittleSwifty13, CurlyGirl2000, LauralovesPLL, LisPar, Ezrialove, msbookworm93, PLLisLove, PrettyLittleFan, Grace, hales03, and ezria,lover! **

An annoying buzzing woke me up from my peaceful slumber.

"Your phone…" Ezra mumbled to me, as he loosened his arms around me.

I let out a groan before reaching over to the bedside table beside me for my ringing phone.

"Who the heck is calling right now? It's eight in the morning." Ezra asked groggily.

My heart skipped a beat as I read the name that lit up the screen of my phone: Dad.

"Holy shit." I whispered, now fully awake.

Ezra looked at me with a worried look on his face. "Is everything… okay?"

I opened my mouth to speak but no words came out. My phone continued ringing in my hand and I knew that I had no choice but to answer it. My fingers shook as I clicked talk and put the phone up to my ear.

"Hello?" I asked quietly.

"Aria, where the hell are you?" Byron's voice boomed through the other side of the phone.

"Um I-," I began, not knowing how to respond.

I turned to Ezra with a panicked look on my face, unsure of how to confess to my father that I was with my old English teacher.

"Aria Montgomery, I want you home _ now." _

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. "Yes, dad."

He hung up without another word and I slowly let the phone fall from my ear.

"We need to leave." I whispered to Ezra.

Ezra nodded in response. A moment later, his phone rang too. We shared a panicked glance before he picked it up and read the caller ID.

"Ella." He said thickly.

"Did Byron call you?" She asked in a worried voice as soon as he answered the phone.

"Yeah, he did." Ezra sighed.

"I'm so sorry. He just got back home and he saw the note you guys left before I could throw it away. I had to tell him or else he would have figured it out for himself and been even angrier."

Ezra closed his eyes as Ella spoke. "It's okay. We'll be back soon."

Ezra hung up the phone and looked at me with a worried look on his face.

"I can't lose you." I whispered to him. "I'm just finally getting you back."

After everything we had been through, my feelings for Ezra were finally resurfacing. There was no way that I was going to let it all go again.

"You won't, Aria." He gently stroked my cheek with his thumb.

"How do you know that?" I asked weakly, as I felt my eyes begin to well up with tears. "You don't know what he can do to you."

Ezra shook his head. "You know that no matter what happens, I'll fight for you." He took my face in both of his hands, as he looked deep into my eyes. I could feel his heavy breath against my face as he spoke.

"I love you." He whispered, before softly pressings his lips against mine. "And nothing your parents do will be able to change that."

I bit my lip and nodded as I tried to hold back more tears that threatened to fall.

I could not ignore the sinking feeling in me that was telling me that I was not going to be able to see him again. As I looked into his eyes once again, I knew Ezra was determined to get Byron to accept us together, but I honestly had no idea how Ezra was going to be able to do it.

"We can do this, can't we?" I asked him, trying to convince myself that we were going to be able to stay together even after we faced Byron's anger.

"Of course we can." Ezra whispered, before kissing me again.

…PLL…

The car ride home was mostly spent in silence. Ezra kept one hand on the wheel while he held my hand in the other. I could not stop thinking about what I would do if I were never able to see him again.

I needed him. He knew exactly what I needed to hear when I was down and I knew that I could trust him with anything. I knew Ezra truly loved me, or else he never would have stuck with me through my accident.

How was my mom going to convince my dad that it was okay for Ezra and I to be together?

I closed my eyes as my head began to hurt from all the thoughts that were racing through my brain.

_All of a sudden, I was sitting at the kitchen table in the kitchen of my house. Mike sat across from me and Byron was in the living room taking a call. _

"_So what were you and… Noel Khan talking about today?" I asked Mike, after Byron had rushed out of the room to answer his phone. _

"_What do you mean?" Mike responded, confusion laced throughout his voice. _

"_I saw you with him… at school this morning." I said slowly. _

"_Yeah," Mike replied. "So?" _

"_So are you guys like friends now, or something?" I asked incredulously. _

"_We hang out a little."_

"_Since when?" _

"_I don't know. Why?" _

_I glanced back at Byron before turning back around. "Has he asked you anything about me? Or about mom and dad? Like, have you told him anything?" I asked uneasily. _

"_Uh, like what?" Mike looked at me like I was crazy. _

"_Look, Noel… He's not who you think he is. Okay, he's not your friend." _

"_Jealous much?" Mike smirked. _

"_Stupid much?" I quickly fired back. _

_Mike's expression quickly changed from smug to annoyance. _

"_I'm serious Mike." _

"_Aria, it was nothing." Mike assured me. "He was just telling me about some stupid r-rumor he had heard." _

_I looked at Mike with fear written all over my face. _

"_Wh-what kind of rumor?" I asked fearfully. _

"_Well," Mike picked up a piece of lettuce out of the salad bowl in front of us before continuing. "Supposedly, the English teacher, you know the one you think is so great?" Mike paused as he watched my reaction. "He's having a thing with one of his students." I froze. Although Mike did not know it, he was talking about me. Noel had purposely told Mike about Ezra being wit a student, knowing that I would hear about it and knowing that I would get scared. _

"_That's not funny Mike. Accusations like that can ruin someone's life." Byron said knowingly, talking about himself and his own relationship with his old student, Meredith. _

"_I'm not making a joke!" Mike defended himself. "Noel swears that he saw them together… and he feels terrible for the girl but… you know, tomorrow he's gonna tell the principal."_

_Noel was actually going to get Ezra in trouble. Oh my God. I had to do something. I couldn't lose Ezra. I just couldn't. _

_Byron saw the frightened look on my face and asked, "Aria? Have you heard anything about this?" _

_I was never going to see Ezra again. He was going to go to jail all because of me. Everything we have together was going to be destroyed. How could Ezra and I have been so stupid as to kiss in a place where someone could have, and did, see us? _

"_Dad…" I shook my head in disbelief. "I've totally screwed up." _

_Byron and Mike looked at me questioningly, as they waited for me to finish my confession. _

"_I promised Spencer that I'd study at her place tonight… we've got this huge midterm tomorrow, she's totally gonna kill me." _

My eyes snapped open as the memory came to an abrupt end.

"What's wrong?" Ezra asked me worriedly, as I slowly turned to face him.

"They're never going to accept us." I whispered. "Byron is never going to let me see you again. He's never going to forgive me for this. I've basically followed his bad example of dating my teacher and made the same mistake he has!"

"Aria, what you and I have isn't a mistake. I'm not your teacher, and for all Byron knows, this started after I left Rosewood."

I felt a pain in my chest as Ezra turned onto my street. This was actually happening. My dad knew that I was dating Ezra, and I had no idea what he was going to do about it.

"What about Mike?" I suddenly asked. "Does he know about us? He's going to kill me too!"

Mike was never going to forgive me for dating Ezra, especially after Byron cheated on Ella! My family was going to fall apart all over again, and it was going to be all my fault. All because I fell in love. What is so wrong with that? Why couldn't the world see my love for Ezra and be happy for us? Why did we have to end up getting ourselves in such a twisted situation?

Before I knew it, Ezra and I were getting out of his car to talk to my parents.

"He's going to kill us." I stated, as I took a deep breath and stared at the door in front of us.

Ezra squeezed my hand in his before murmuring into my ear, "It's all going to be okay."

As I turned to him, I saw in his eyes that he meant those words. I placed my hand on his cheek before leaning up to kiss him.

Our lips met in a gentle kiss, full of pure love. We jumped a mile apart when the door swung open beside us. A voice I knew only as my fathers,' boomed, "What the hell are you doing?"

**Hope you guys liked it, PLEASE REVIEW! **


	17. Chapter 17

**Thank you so much for your reviews: PrettyLittleFan, msbookworm93, PrettyLittleSwifty13, cheergirl19961, nightmares,and,dreamers, Grace, Jane, HarrylovesGinny09, me,love,to,read, SolitudeMyLove, Pretty-Little-Ezria, NataliaRosePLL, ezrialove, ezria,shipper, Mlollylucy, EzriaAddicted, Notinyourlifetimehoney, PLLislove, and CurlyGirl2000! **

**Ezra's POV**

"Get your hands off of my daughter." Byron spoke through gritted teeth, his eyes burning harshly into mine.

I froze for a moment, before slowly letting my arms fall from around Aria. Of all the moments for Byron to see us, of course it had to be when we were kissing. I snuck a glance at Aria, who had a panic struck look on her face.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

I snuck a glance at Aria again, who was still in a state of shock, before turning back to face Byron. His eyes had anger and hate reflected all over them. But who would blame him? He had just found out that his daughter had skipped town with her ex-English teacher. And then to open the front door to the two of them kissing? This would not be an easy situation for anyone. But all I needed was for him to listen to me.

"I'm in love with your daughter. I love Aria."

Byron's mouth hung agape in shock.

Ella grabbed Byron's arm to stop him from attacking me.

"What the hell do you mean you love her?" Byron finally exploded. "She was your student! She's sixteen!"

"That hasn't made me love her any less."

Age had never been an issue for Aria and I, and it had never really affected our relationship. We did not care about what anyone else thought of us being together, because to us, it felt good. It felt _right. _

"Dad-" Aria began, but Byron cut her off.

"I don't care if you love her!" Byron yelled. "If you care so much about her, you'd put her before yourself and realize that you shouldn't have started a fucking relationship with her! She was your student! You've taken so much away from her!"

"Do you think I don't know that?" I fired back, finally having had enough. "Do you really think that I've never once questioned the sanity in what I was doing? Falling in love with my student." I laughed harshly. "I told myself that this was wrong over and over again, but I knew it was all a lie."

I had told myself countless times after finding out that Aria was my student, that there was no way I could let what we had started between us continue. But I didn't listen to myself. I could not _ not _be with Aria. The feelings that envelop me when I am around her are indescribable. Her kiss sends sparks through my body that I have never felt with anyone else. I only wanted what was best for her, and that's why I tried not to let my feelings for her get too far. But she convinced me that we were right for each other. That despite our twisted and messed up situation, it felt right to be with each other. That we should follow our hearts instead of our heads. That this was a once in a lifetime chance and that we could not give up on what we had together.

"You've brainwashed her into thinking you actually care about her! Why would you do that to her? She's done nothing to you! How dare you use her accident to your own advantage!" Byron seethed, bringing me back to reality.

"That's not true." I quickly said. Although the moment she asked me who I was while she was in the hospital had been one of the hardest moments I had ever endured, I knew that there was a way that we could get past Aria's accident and dig the memories of our relationship back up. I knew that I could not give up on her, and that giving up on Aria would have been like throwing our whole relationship away. Although the journey to helping her find her memories of me again was hell, it was worth every antagonizing second.

"I would never do anything to hurt your daughter. I've been in love with Aria sinc-"

Byron cut me off, not allowing me to finish my statement. "_Stop saying that._" Byron spoke through gritted teeth. "You can't love your student! She's sixteen!"

"_It doesn't matter." _ I clarified. "It doesn't bother me that she's sixteen. She's very mature for her age."

"It damn well should!" Byron exclaimed at me. I watched as he took a deep breath in an attempt to compose himself. "You're not allowed to see her anymore."

Those words harshly cut through me like a knife. I could not let this go on. There was no way I was going to be able to get through every day, unable to see Aria. Unable to hold her. Unable to kiss her.

"Dad, no!" Aria cried out. "Ezra has been nothing but helpful and supportive since my accident! If he didn't care about me, he would have given up on me a long time ago!" Aria tried to reason with her father.

Byron sunk down into the chair beside us and put his head in his hands.

"Dad, I love him. He makes me happy. He's been there for me through everything that's happened these past few months, and he genuinely cares."

"_The past few months?_ What the hell Aria? How long has this been going on?" Byron shouted at Aria before quickly turning his searing gaze to me. "What? You just saw some pretty girl in your class so you had to go after her?" Byron spat at me.

"Of course not! I-" I began, but Aria cut me off.

"We met before school started!" Aria said.

"How is that possible?" Byron asked, taken aback.

Aria and I shared a glance before she continued. "It was the day we had gotten back from Iceland. I had just dropped Mike off at lacrosse practice and I was hungry, so I stopped at a restaurant to grab something to eat. Ezra was there and we started talking and we discovered that we shared a lot of the same interests. We kissed before we left, and then the next day at school..." Aria paused and looked up at me. "He was my new English teacher." She said slowly, her eyes never leaving mine.

Fate had brought us together for a reason. Aria and I were meant to be together. We never would have met in that bar had it not been destiny, and all the trials and tribulations we have experienced have only helped our love for each other grow stronger.

"This is so _wrong." _ Byron spat out.

What was I going to have to do to convince Byron that this _wasn't _wrong? That I really, truly, loved Aria.

"You don't have room to talk!" Aria fired back at him. "You cheated on mom with a student! You can't try to condemn Ezra for being with me when you started a relationship with one of your students too!"

"Don't try and change the problem from you to me. That was entirely different." Byron defended himself.

Aria and Byron stared at each other for a moment, as Byron waited for Aria's response. Aria had a pained expression on her face as she bowed her head in defeat.

"You're right." Aria whispered to Byron.

Why did she agree with him? He wasn't right! I do love Aria! How could she doubt that now? After all we have been through? After she remembered everything about our relationship?

What was she thinking?

"It was different." Aria spoke a little louder, confidence slowly entering her voice, as she looked back up to her father again. "I didn't cheat on my family. You did."

Byron's face slowly began turning red in anger, as Aria's words harshly cut into him.

I had never meant for any of this to happen. I would not be able to live with myself knowing that I was the reason for more turmoil in Aria's family. They had already been through so much, and Aria had ended up making the same mistake as Byron. Except what Aria and I had was the furthest thing from a mistake.

"Mr. Montgomery, I know that you don't want to hear this right now, but I really do love Aria. I would never do anything to hurt her and I only want what's best for her." I assured him.

"And you think that you're what's best for her? You were her teacher! Who are you trying to convince? Me or yourself? We both know that she means nothing to you." Byron looked at me in disbelief.

I shook my head, signaling to him that his statement was wrong.

"She means _everything_ to me."

If looks could kill, I'd be dead. As Byron's gaze harshly bore into mine, I was surprised I did not burn from the impact of it.

All of a sudden, Byron turned to Ella. "Don't you have a say in this?"

Ella remained silent, as Byron quickly connected the dots.

"You knew about this? Why would you keep this from me?" He asked, disbelief laced throughout his tone.

"You weren't home for me to tell you." Ella said simply.

Byron shook his head for a moment, before turning back to Aria and I.

"She's _sixteen. _She doesn't know what she wants and she doesn't know what love is." Byron said harshly.

"Dad!" Aria exclaimed. "Stop!"

The tears that were clinging to Aria's eyelashes finally spilled over, as she walked over to me and took one of my hands in hers. "Listen to me for a minute. Stop accusing Ezra of things he didn't do, and _just listen." _

Aria turned to me and our eyes met. Nothing but love was reflected in both pairs, as our eyes never left the others'.

She took a deep breath, as she turned to face her fathers' disgusted glare. I felt my heart breaking as I saw the pain she was going through; having to confess about being in a relationship with her English teacher to her father. Even though Ella seemed to accept us being together, I knew that Aria's parents were never going to look at her the same again. They were going to treat her differently, knowing that she followed her fathers' footsteps of bad mistakes.

"I didn't know that he was going to be my teacher when we first met. I _never _would have pursued this if I had known that small fact. I've found someone in my life that cares for me. Someone who's always been there for me when I'm hurting. Someone who only wants the best for me. _Someone who loves me._"

Byron closed his eyes, unable to deal with this any longer.

"Dad, please," Aria begged in a pleading whisper.

"We trusted you. We befriended you! All to find out that the whole time you were dating our teenage daughter behind our backs?" Byron said quietly. "You were her _teacher. _ Ho-How did this even work? You couldn't be seen out in public together!"

Aria and I exchanged a panicked glance before responding.

"Um…W-we met at his… apartment." Aria said slowly.

Byron looked at me with hate and fury written all over his eyes.

"This is enough. You're not allowed to see each other anymore."

"No!" Aria whimpered at his words, as she threw herself into my arms. I tightly wrapped my arms around her, never wanting to let her go. "Dad, please! Mom's fine with us being together so why aren't you? You of all people should understand that love has no boundaries! Ezra and I didn't know that we were going to be teacher and student when we met! We haven't done anything wrong!"

Mike came bounding down the stairs a moment later, probably wanting to know what all the yelling was about.

"What's going on?" Mike slowly walked into the living room to find Aria still in my arms and Byron with a pissed look on his face.

"Your sister is dating Mr. Fitz." Byron said bitterly, as I let my arms fall from around Aria.

All of sudden, something in Mike snapped, as his fist quickly met my mouth. I stumbled backwards in surprise, as Aria shrieked, "Mike!"

Aria stood in front of me, as if protecting me from being hit again.

"What the hell have you done to my sister?" Mike screamed furiously at me.

"I think it's time you leave." Byron said bitterly, ignoring Mike completely. "Aria, go to your room."

I turned to Aria, who had a heartbroken and crushed gaze in her eyes.

"Can't I at least say good-bye to him?" Aria pleaded in a broken voice.

"No." Byron said.

More tears fell down Aria's rosy cheeks as the single word escaped his lips.

"Byron, let her say good-bye to him." Ella said softly.

Byron looked at Ella with a pained expression for what seemed like forever, before finally giving Ella a small nod. Aria grabbed my hand as she led me outside and shut the front door firmly behind her.

"I'm so sorry." She said quietly, as she looked down, refusing to meet my eyes.

"Aria," I began, waiting for her to look back up at me. "Aria." I repeated her name, as I placed two fingers under her chin and tilted her head up so I could look into her eyes. "It's all going to be okay. Your dad will come around."

Aria moved closer to me and I could feel her hot and heavy breath fanning my face.

"How do you know that?" She asked, her voice trembling with uncertainty as her eyes looked deeply into mine, as if she was expecting to find the answer to her question buried within the depths of my eyes.

I brushed my thumb across her cheek as I wiped away a few of her stray tears.

"Because true love can conquer all." I whispered, before crushing my lips to hers. My fingers tangled themselves in her hair as her hands clutched at my waist, pulling me closer to her. The kiss deepened as our tongues met in a passionate battle for dominance. My arms wrapped around her back, pressing her body flush against mine. Aria kissed me harder and deeper, as she held her body as close as possible to mine.

We finally broke apart when we could no longer go without air. I gently brushed my thumb across her cheek as I held her in my arms before I softly told her that I loved her.

She took either side of my face in her hands before crushing her lips to mine again. She thrusted her small tongue into my open mouth, as she tangled her fingers in my hair. Our tongues gently massaged each other's before we slowly broke apart.

"I love you too." Aria whispered against my lips.

I knew I had to remain strong, not only for my own sake, but Aria's too. I felt my heart shattering into a million little pieces as I began to turn away from Aria, trying my hardest to hold our gaze for as long as possible.

I painfully watched Aria as she sunk down to the porch steps underneath her, as tears continued cascading down her rosy cheeks.

Why did our love have to come to this? Why couldn't Byron accept us together? Why was it so wrong that I loved Aria? Why was it so wrong that she loved me?

"I love you." I whispered into the night, praying that those three little words would somehow grace Aria's ears.

**Review please! **


	18. Chapter 18

**I read a spoiler earlier that we're going to meet Ezra's parents in season 3… meaning Ezria will still be together by then. Honestly, everyone knows that Ezria is endgame, so why do we worry so much about things tearing them apart? I think that the Ezria family worries too much. Marlene would never do anything to completely tear Ezria apart, right? :) **

**Thank you so much for your reviews! The last chapter was pretty heartbreaking! : PLLisLove, Anonymous, Sofarsogood08, Leah, LauralovesPLL, Shookenup, AngelInADevilsArms, Mlollylucy, HappinessB26, ezrialove, NataliaRosePLL, Catherine945, HarrylovesGinny09, Evanlyn, nightmares,and,dreamers, SolitudeMyLove, St0ryTeller, me,love,to,read, lani, EzriaAddicted, and Notinyourlifetimehoney! **

I felt my heart shattering into a million little pieces as Ezra's hand fell from mine. He slowly made his way back to his car, before driving off into the night.

A sob escaped my lips as his car disappeared from my sight. Was I losing him again? Why did this have to be so complicated? I had found someone in my life that cared for me… who loved me. I knew that everything Ezra felt for me was real; our age differences were just a complication. He never would have tried so hard to help me get my memories of our relationship back if I did not mean anything to him.

I sunk down to the porch steps underneath me as the tears continued to fall from my eyes.

I could barely wrap my mind around this. How could someone so dear and so important to me, be torn from my grasp and taken away from me?

Why couldn't my father understand?

He loved me, but my parents were ruining our love. Every obstacle that could possibly hit us had already come into our relationship. Sneaking around and never being able to tell anyone that I was in love with my English teacher was not an easy thing. But the only thing stopping us now from having a real relationship was my father.

It was not fair! How could he accuse me of doing something so horrible as to date my ex-English teacher, when he cheated on Ella with a student of his? How did he feel about himself, knowing that he was a total hypocrite?

Why didn't Ella stand up for Ezra and I? Why did she let Byron treat Ezra in such a cruel way? Didn't Ella see that the love Ezra has for me is real? And vice versa?

I closed my eyes for a moment, but instead of seeing all black, another memory entered my mind.

_I knocked on the door to Ezra's apartment twice, my heart beating rapidly against my chest as my fist pounded on the wood. I tapped my foot impatiently against the floor as I waited for the door to swing open. As another moment passed with no reply, I reached down and snatched Ezra's spare apartment key from under the mat. Shoving the key into the hole, I quickly unlocked the door and entered the apartment. As I looked around, I realized that Ezra was nowhere to be found. His bed was perfectly made in the corner of the apartment and his dishwasher was humming quietly. _

"_Ezra?" I called out, as I spotted his cell phone sitting on the coffee table beside the couch. _

_As a cold gust of air hit me, I turned to the source, to find Ezra standing outside on the balcony of his apartment, looking out onto the city. _

_I came up behind him and stood beside him. He slowly tore his eyes away from the city and towards me. _

"_We need to tell your parents." _

_I took one of his hands in mine before responding. "I know." _

"_The look on your mom's face when she accused me of being with Spencer… Anger, hurt, rage…" Ezra trailed off. _

"_You weren't there when she asked me if it was true that you were involved with a student. She said she'd be disappointed and betrayed. And that was if you were with Spencer. Not even me."_

_Ezra shook his head. _

"_Why does this have to be so hard?" I asked no one in particular. _

"_Because the world doesn't believe we should be together." Ezra replied quietly, as he wrapped his arms around me, holding me against his chest. _

"_Who cares about the rest of the world." I muttered under my breath._

_I closed my eyes as I felt Ezra press his lips to the top of my head, probably inhaling the scent of my strawberry shampoo. I felt so complete, standing there in Ezra's arms. How could this be wrong to anyone? Why couldn't people see our love for each other? _

"_What about your parents?" I asked suddenly, as I turned myself in his arms so I could face him. _

"_What about them?" Ezra asked, confused. _

"_Do they know about me? About us?" _

_Ezra shook his head. "Not exactly. They know I'm seeing someone, but they think its casual." _

_I bit my lip as I pondered this information. Ezra and I had always talked about what we were going to do when we told my parents about our relationship. What were his parents going to say about us being together?_

"_Are you going to tell them?" _

"_Eventually, but I don't see any reason to rush. Your parents are our main concern right now." He reminded me, as he began to stroke his fingers gently through my silky hair._

"_I know." I whispered, as I turned back to look at the city lights. _

_We stood there in silence for a few moments, basking in the feeling of being in each others' arms while our minds raced with how to's and what if's. _

"_No matter what happens Aria," Ezra began, as I turned around again so I could face him. "With my parents or yours… I'll always love you." Ezra said quietly._

_I could see all the love he felt for me and more, reflected in his eyes. _

"_You too." I whispered, before I gently placed my hands on either side of his cheeks and kissed him sweetly but passionately, assuring him that nothing would ever be able to truly tear us apart._

All of a sudden, I was filled with wave of confidence. Who care what my dad thinks about my relationship? I love Ezra.

My heart pounded hard against my chest as my mind raced. While Ezra worked at Rosewood, he had to see my mother every day and pretend that he was not in love with her sixteen-year-old daughter. Now, while working at Hollis, he had to make sure he did not let anything slip about how he had spent the night before hanging out with me at his apartment, when he was visited by Byron in his office. He had to walk around pretending that he wasn't in love with his sixteen year old ex-student.

He had stuck with me through these past few days, instead of giving up on our relationship completely. I had forgotten everything about one of the most important people in my life, yet he made sure that I remembered it all again. He did not let something so tragic and scary ruin our relationship.

Our love was too strong and special to let my father's opinion on it destroy it. We had made it through all the sneaking around and lying that came with having a student-teacher relationship, and all the tears and pain that came with me losing my memories of Ezra. If our relationship was not meant to be, then I don't know what was.

I quickly stood up, knowing exactly what I had to do. I had to fight; for what I believed in and for who I loved.

As I reached for the door handle to open the front door, I stopped abruptly when I heard yelling from inside. I slowly and quietly opened the door just enough that I would be able to hear the voices coming from inside.

"This is wrong!" I heard Byron yell. "We trusted him and he took advantage of that trust by doing God knows what with our sixteen year old daughter!"

"Byron, you weren't there when Ezra told me about their relationship." Ella fired back. "But you were there when he came to see her in the hospital. Do you remember? He almost started crying when he saw Aria lying in that bed. Tell me you don't remember that!"

"It could have all been an act, just to try to convince us that he wasn't using her!"

"If he didn't care about her, he would have moved on to the next girl by now. And he most certainly would not have told me about their relationship when Aria couldn't be by his side to back him up. _He came to me, Byron. _Ezra told me that he was in love with Aria because she forgot everything about him. He's stuck with her every day since her accident, trying to help her remember him. I don't know what happened, but obviously they're together again and obviously she's remembered some things about him. You know Aria, Byron, she would never let anyone take advantage of her."

I heard Byron let out a loud sigh, clearly unsure of what to say next. 

"You should have seen Ezra the other day. Aria woke up in the middle of the night screaming, and not even two seconds later, Ezra was in there comforting her. I don't know what happened between the two of them, but clearly he helped her with whatever was bothering her, because she's fine now. But you know what, now you're the reason for our daughters' misery. She's outside crying her eyes out because you took away the one person she feels as if she can rely on for anything." I heard Ella say.

I let out the breath I had not realized that I had been holding. Ella was defending my relationship with Ezra. She actually was completely okay with us being together and there she was, arguing with Byron that Ezra's feelings for me were genuine.

"She can come to us with anything too." I heard Byron mutter under his breath.

"No, she can't." Ella clarified. "You ruined your trust with her when you made her keep your infidelity a secret."

I had heard enough. I needed to see Ezra and I needed to see him now. I pushed the door open, letting my eyes wander anywhere that wasn't my parents' faces, before I quickly rushed up the stairs and into my room. I grabbed my car keys from my dresser before rushing back down the stairs.

"Where do you think you're going?" I heard Byron's voice ask.

"Anywhere but here." I quickly said back, before leaving the house, not bothering to turn around to watch his reaction.

"Aria Montgomery, you will not talk to me like that." Byron said harshly.

"You know what dad?" I finally turned around to face him. "After what you just did to me, I can say whatever the hell I want to you." I walked out of the house, leaving Byron standing there speechless, not giving him enough time to say another word.

I arrived at Ezra's apartment ten minutes later. I quickly walked up to his floor, desperate to see him again.

I bit my lip as I knocked on his door.

A few seconds passed before the door to apartment 3B swung open. Ezra stood on the other side, with a stressed and confused look on his face. As soon as he saw me, his face lit up with happiness, however, that happiness quickly disappeared when he noticed my smudged make up and tear stained cheeks.

"I couldn't…" I whispered. "I need you."

Ezra immediately embraced me in his arms, holding me tightly against him. I knew I that I had made the right decision. There was no way that I could let him go.

"Ezra…" I whispered, as I begun to cry again.

I could not have this taken away from me. I loved him so much. I needed him. I needed to feel his arms around me. I needed to feel his lips against mine. I needed him in my life.

"I know, baby…" Ezra whispered, as he stroked his fingers through my hair. "I know…"

I closed my eyes as I buried my head in the crook of his neck. Ezra continued holding me, providing me with the comfort I needed. At that moment, no one else mattered. It was only Ezra, me, the indestructible love we held for each other.

**I don't think I'll be able to update before Christmas, so Merry Christmas to you all! Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, PLEASE REVIEW! (It would make an amazing Christmas present!) :)**


	19. Chapter 19

**Thanks for your reviews! : A, PrettyLittleFan, AngelInADevilsArms, Shookenup, krazyfan1, HarrylovesGinny09, NataliaRosePLL, CrazyLove345, LauralovesPLL, nightmares,and,dreamers, SolitudeMyLove, ezrialove, me,love,to,read, MlollyLucy, msbookworm93, sofarsogood08, Pretty-Little-Ezria, PLLisLove, St0ryTeller, anonymous, GilmoreGirls945, Notinyourlifetimehoney, EzriaAddicted, and CurlyGirl2000! **

**Anyone see the Canadian promo? Byron's face is PRICELESS haha. **

**Two new sneak peeks came out for 2x15 and one of them is of Byron flipping out about Aria's outfit. Ella is all calm about it, so clearly she takes Aria and Ezra's relationship better than Byron does. **

**Shookenup - I saw that photo, there's two more that go with that scene. One is of Byron and one is of Ezra, and they both look really pissed.**

**Aria's POV**

What was it going to take? How was I going to make Byron understand? Ezra loves me. Why couldn't Byron see that love? Telling Byron about how Ezra and I had met before we knew he was my teacher did not affect Byron's opinion on our relationship at all. Ezra has sacrificed so much to be with me. Why couldn't Byron see that?

"I'm so sorry." I whispered to Ezra, as I placed one of my hands on his cheek.

He closed his eyes for a moment and leaned his face into my palm slightly before responding. "You have nothing to be sorry for."

"I do…" I whispered.

Ezra shook his head slightly. "No, Aria. None of this is your fault."

I felt tears forming in my eyes as I stared into his dark blue eyes.

"Just because he doesn't accept us now, doesn't mean he won't come around later." Ezra said quietly.

"I hope you're right." I closed my eyes and rested my head on Ezra's chest as he held me tightly against him.

A harsh knocking on Ezra's apartment door forced me to untangle myself from Ezra's embrace. Ezra's arms slowly fell from around me. We exchanged a glance as the persistent knocking continued. Ezra cautiously opened up the door, as Byron pushed his way into Ezra's apartment.

"Byron, stop!" I heard Ella exclaim angrily, as she quickly appeared at Ezra's doorway behind Byron.

"I knew she'd be here!" Byron pointed to me. I remained motionless, still frightened from his reaction.

"What did I tell you? I don't want you seeing each other!" Byron cried out angrily.

"Byron, stop!" Ella exclaimed again.

"How are you okay with this? He was her teacher and he has done God knows what with our sixteen year old daughter!"

I had already told Byron that Ezra and I have never had sex! Why couldn't he believe me?

"We've only kissed!" I reminded him. "What is so wrong with that? We don't need sex to keep our relationship strong. Just being together is enough for us!"

Byron shook his head at me. "Did we give you too much freedom? Is that why you did this?"

"Is that why I did what?" I exclaimed angrily at him. "Fall in love?"

**Byron's POV**

Had we placed too much trust in Aria? Was that our mistake?

Was this my fault? Aria knows that Meredith was a mistake, so why would she do the same thing?

How could Ezra do something like this to betray our trust?

Before parent teacher conferences, Ella had gushed to me about what a great person Ezra was. After Ezra and I got over our little mishap about him trying to get together with Ella, we went out for drinks and I began to really like the guy. We invited him over twice, and Ezra and I became good friends. I helped him get a better job at Hollis, and in the end, the whole time; he had been dating my sixteen-year-old daughter.

No wonder he had been so nervous at parent teacher conferences. I accused him of being with Ella when he was not; but instead, was with my daughter!

What had he done to make Aria get together with him? How had he fooled her into thinking he cared about her? And why would Aria pursue a relationship with her teacher? Wasn't she better than that?  
>"Why would you do something like this Aria? Why would you date your teacher? Of all the thousands of boys in the world, why did you have to go after a man who was your teacher?" I asked angrily.<p>

Why couldn't she fall in love with anyone else at her school? Why her teacher?

This was so wrong!

"Dad, I already told you, Ezra and I met before we knew he was my teacher!"

"So after you found out, you didn't think, I can't be with him, he's my teacher!"

"We tried to stay away from each other dad, we really did, but we couldn't!"

I shook my head in disbelief. "Obviously you two didn't try hard enough."

If I had been able to stay away from Meredith, there was no reason that Ezra should not have been able to stay away from Aria!

**Aria's POV**

What was it going to take? Why couldn't he understand? Ezra loves me. I love him. And even though society may not accept us together, we were meant to be together, no matter what anyone else said. Ella even tried to convince Byron, but he won't budge on his opinion of us!

**Byron's POV**

"He never took advantage of you or forced you to be with him?" I asked cautiously.

Aria began to shake her head before I even managed to finish my sentence.

"Never. If anything, I was the one convincing him to stay together with me after we found out he was my teacher."

I let out a huge sigh as I sunk down into the chair beside me. This is why Aria had always tensed up and become nervous when Ezra was mentioned. This is why she refused to tell Ella or I anything about her boyfriend. She had kept so many secrets from us! What else was she hiding?

"You've been lying to us for months, Aria…" I shook my head in disbelief.

Aria bowed her head in what I hoped was shame. I saw the faint glimmer of her tears fall down her cheeks. Why couldn't she realize that what she was doing was wrong? That her relationship with Ezra was _so _ wrong?

I had to protect her. He was going to leave her. There was no doubt about it. Eventually, she was going to realize that it is for her own good that her and Ezra stop seeing each other. Who did he think he was? To start a relationship with my daughter!

I did not want to hurt her, but she was going to be in more pain later when Ezra leaves her, than she is in now.

**Ezra's POV**

Aria looked so broken, and all I wanted to do was to hold her in my arms and comfort her. Why couldn't Byron see how much he was hurting her? What else was I going to have to say to convince him that I truly loved Aria?

"I controlled my feelings for Meredith, so why can't you control your feelings for Aria?" Byron asked angrily.

"Because I don't want him to!" Aria exclaimed, before I could respond.

"Aria, that's enough!" Byron cried out at her. Byron looked at me with a pained expression on his face. "I thought I could trust my daughter…But thanks, to you… I can't."

Byron shook his head at Aria and I, before walking out of my apartment without another word.

I never wanted revealing our relationship to come to this. I never wanted to be the reason Aria's parents lost trust in her. Byron was never going to look at her the same again. Nothing I said was able to convince him that what Aria and I had was real. This was my entire fault. Maybe Aria was better off without me.

A loud sob escaped Aria's lips, bringing me back to reality.

**Aria's POV**

I was breaking my family apart, bit-by-bit. Was Ezra going to walk away too? Why was he involved with me anyway? I was just complicating his life! I closed my eyes, unable to handle this any longer. Why did our relationship have to be so hard?

"_Look, I think you're amazing Aria. When I first met you, I thought… who is this girl?" _

_I couldn't stop the smile that was slowly forming on my face due to his words. I took a step closer to him, and placed my hand over his. He looked up at me uncomfortably as he debated with himself whether or not he should move his hand. _

"_I'm still that girl." I reminded him. "Kay? Nothing's changed!" _

_He shook his head. "Yes, yes it has. I'm your teacher." _

"_I know it's not just me. Yo-you feel like this is right for us too." I tried convincing him. _

"_But it's not right." Ezra looked down, unable to meet my eyes, as he pulled his hand out from under mine. "We just can't." He said, before walking out of the room, leaving me alone, once again. _

"_I could never hate you. I figured you'd be here tonight. A new haircut wasn't to impress Mrs. Welch. I got to go." Ezra said sadly. I stood there silently, as I watched him walk away from me, and everything I thought we'd had, once again. _

He had already walked away from our relationship. What was stopping him now?

All of a sudden, I felt Ezra's arms wrap around me, holding me close against his chest. His thumb came up to my face to wipe away a few of my tears as I closed my eyes at his touch.

He was not going to leave me. He had left me before, but every time, he had come back to me. We could not stay away from each other. If Ezra wanted to give up on our relationship, he would have done it a long time ago. If he did not love me, he never would have tried so hard to help me get my memories of him back.

Ezra rested his chin on the top of my head as he rubbed my back soothingly. My tears finally began to slow.

"I'm going to try to talk to him again." Ella said quietly, before she left Ezra's apartment.

I lifted my head from Ezra's chest and our gazes met. He leaned down and our lips met in a gentle kiss. It was everything I needed in that moment. It was gentle and reassuring, reminding me that nothing would ever be able to truly tear the two of us apart.

**Hope you guys liked this, PLEASE REVIEW! **


	20. Chapter 20

**Thanks so much for your reviews! : EzriaAddicted, LauralovesPLL, Anonymous, literaturefrenzy23, ezrialove, me,love,to,read, St0ryTeller, Nikki, HandswithRoses, bite-me-im-irish, HarrylovesGinny09, SolitudeMyLove, TheBoyWithTheSnares, nightmares,and,dreamers, msbookworm93, Notinyourlifetimehoney, PLLisLove, Pretty-Little-Ezria, NataliaRosePLL, and PrettyLittleFan! **

**I'm gonna cry. Tonight… My Ezria heart is breaking. **

I closed my eyes as I buried my head in the crook of Ezra's neck. I inhaled the scent of his cologne, committing the smell to my memory. We wrapped our arms around each other, holding our bodies against each other. It was as if time had stood still. At that moment, the only thing that mattered was that Ezra and I were together.

I knew I was safe in Ezra's arms. He would never let anything bad happen to me. He would never let anyone hurt me.

A familiar feeling washed through me, reminding me that this had all happened before. All of a sudden, I saw Ezra standing in front of his apartment door, holding me in his arms. It came quickly, like a flash of light, before vanishing again before my eyes. I sucked in a breath as the memory became clearer.

_I raised my hand up and knocked on the door to apartment 3B. I closed my eyes for a minute, holding in my tears. I couldn't let them fall. _

_It had just been too much. Seeing Meredith at Ella's art gallery reminded me of the disastrous secret I was keeping for Byron. Ella still did not know that he cheated on her with a student of his. The door to Ezra's apartment door suddenly swung open in front of me. _

"_Hey!" Ezra began, before quickly noting the sad look in my eyes. "I thought you were helping out at the gallery." He said softly, confusion laced throughout his voice. _

"_I was." I told him. "Can I come in?" I asked desperately, wanting, needing, to forget about everything that had happened tonight._

"_I'm not sure if that's a good idea." He said slowly, debating with himself whether or not he should let me enter. _

_Rejection flooded through me. He was right. What was I doing here? What had I thought would happen? I'm his student now. He wants nothing to do with me. _

"_I-I'm sorry, this was… a mistake. I shouldn't have come here. I… I just didn't know where else to go." I confessed. A wave of sadness flooded through me as I turned away from him. "I'll see you on Monday." _

_As I began to walk away, anger filled me. Why did I come here? He probably thinks I'm just some immature little student. He's my teacher now and I need to start seeing him in that way. We couldn't be together anymore. He is my teacher. _

"_No, wait." I heard him say. I turned around to see him standing outside his apartment door. He stuck one hand in his pocket before speaking. _

"_A-are you okay? Do you need me to drive you home?" _

_I closed my eyes for a moment. I could not handle going home. Facing Byron again after seeing _her. _ Who did she think she was? He was married, he had a family, and he made one mistake. She is nothing to him. Why couldn't she see that? Whatever they once had, is over. _

_Was this what Ezra thought of me too? Was I the foolish, naïve, girl now? The girl who fell for her teacher? Who thought her teacher actually cared about her? Who let her teacher take advantage of her? _

"_That's the last place I want to be." I said quietly, pushing those heartbreaking thoughts aside. _

"_Why? What happened?" Ezra asked in a concerned voice, as he took a step closer to me._

_If he really had no feelings for me, he was doing an amazing job faking them. The look in his eyes showed nothing but worry and sadness, at seeing me in such a broken state. How could this not be real? How could his feelings for me not be genuine? He didn't know I was going to be his student when we first met, and the day we met, he really wanted to get to know me. I had wanted to get to know him too. Needed to know him. The pull we felt towards each other was too strong. It was indescribable. We couldn't not know each other. _

"_C-Can we just… be here for a minute?" I asked, only wanting him to provide me with a sense of comfort that I knew only he could give me. _

_He gave me a small smile as he moved closer to me, signaling that he was going to be here for me. He embraced me, wrapping his arms around me as he held me against him. I closed my eyes as I rested my head on his chest. He pressed his lips to the top of my head, kissing me softly. I relaxed myself into his embrace, knowing I was safe in his arms. _

"I need to get back home." I whispered as I reluctantly pulled away from Ezra's embrace.

"You sure you want to go home?" Ezra asked cautiously, as he caressed my cheek with his thumb.

"No." I admitted. "But it's probably for the best."

He nodded, before leaning down to kiss me. Our lips met for a moment, before I pulled away.

I really did not want to leave but I knew Byron would kill me if I stayed here. I was already in enough trouble as it was.

"I'll see you later." I said, as I began to walk towards the door.

"Aria?" Ezra said hesitantly, as I reached for the doorknob to his apartment door.

I turned around to face him with a questioning look on my face.

He stepped closer to me and caressed my cheek again. "I love you… so much." He whispered.

"I love you too." I said, as I gave him a small smile.

I quietly opened the front door to the house, unsure of who was home. I did not mind seeing Ella, but I was not ready to face Byron quite yet.

"Aria? Is that you?" I heard Ella's voice coming from behind me. I quickly turned to see Ella sitting on the couch in the living room and Byron pacing in front of her.

I slowly walked into the room. Byron's face had softened and he did not look as mad as he did while at Ezra's apartment.

"Dad…" I began, as I took a step closer to him. "I know you don't like this, but if you would just give us a chance!"

What was it going to take? Were Ezra and I going to have to prove ourselves to him? Was Byron not going to be able to see our love for each other until I got hurt and Ezra was there for me? Just the look in Ezra's eyes when he is with me should be sufficient! Or the fact that Ezra has been here for me and stuck with me through everything that has happened since my accident!

Byron shook his head at me before speaking quietly. "Aria, I don't want you to make the same mistake I did."

I shook my head at him back. Why was he only seeing our love as a mistake? Why couldn't he see that this was real? That what Ezra and I had was so perfectly, truly, real!

"But this isn't a mistake!" I pleaded with him. "Dad, I love him. He loves me too. Why is that so wrong?"

Byron took a deep breathe before responding. "Aria, your mother and I both worked with this man. We both became friends with him. We trusted him. Then we found out he was dating our daughter, who was once his student. That doesn't seem wrong to you in any way?" Byron asked.

"I know you don't like this now, but if you would just give us a chance!" I pleaded. "You keep looking at Ezra as only my teacher, that's why you only see us being together as wrong!"

"That's because he is your teacher!" Byron cried out desperately.

"No, he's not!"

"He _ was_ your teacher. That speaks for itself."

I shook my head at him. What was he trying to tell me? I know Ezra was my teacher and I do not care how wrong our relationship may seem to other people, because to Ezra and I, it was right. "If you're trying to make me feel bad about myself then I'd stop if I were you because it's not gong to work. I love Ezra. There's nothing you can do or say to change the way I feel about him."

"I really wish there was." I heard him faintly mutter under his breath.

"You don't know how much Ezra has beat himself up about this." I told him, trying to make him realize that Ezra didn't immediately go for our relationship either.

"Clearly not enough, because he still pursued this!"

"He didn't pursue this! I did!"

Byron furrowed his eyebrows at me in confusion for a moment before plastering a mad look back on his face.

"We couldn't _not _be with each other." I confessed.

It was true. Based on my memories and what Ezra has told me about our relationship, we had tried so hard not to be with each other, but we just… couldn't.

"How do you know he's not just using you? How are you going to feel about yourself when he stops this charade he's put on for you?"

I looked at Byron in disbelief.

"It's my job to protect you from people like him."

"That's fine! Protect me from people _like_ him! Just don't try to protect me from _ him! _ Ezra hasn't done anything wrong!"

"I don't want to see you get hurt, Aria."

I shook my head at him. "The only one hurting me is _you_." I clarified. "And why do you keep looking at him like that? You liked him as a person before, why don't you like him as a person now? Ezra is the same person he was before you knew that he was in love with me. Nothing's changed!"

"Aria, everything has changed. He had a relationship with you while you were his student."

I shook my head. Is that the only thing Byron see's about our relationship? Why couldn't he see us as Ezra and Aria? Not as Mr. Fitz and Aria?

"He doesn't care about you." Byron said.

"Yes, he does!"

"Look at how he's made you convince yourself!" Byron looked at me in disbelief.

"No one has convinced anyone! No convincing has needed to be done, because this is real!" I exclaimed. "He gave up his job teaching at Rosewood for me. He _ loved _teaching high school. You know that."

Byron remained silent. I knew that my words were getting to him. He had no choice but to think about this. To contemplate whether or not what Ezra and I had was real.

"Dad, I met Ezra before school started. At that time, Hanna was dating Sean, Emily was dating Maya, and Spencer was with Wren. Since then, Hanna's broken up with Sean and is now with Caleb, Emily's been with Maya, Samara, and Paige, and Spencer's now with Toby. I'm the only one of my friends who has stayed in a relationship with the same person since the beginning of school. And my relationship was with my English teacher. What does that tell you?"

Byron shook his head. "That your friends can't be in a relationship with the same person for longer than a few weeks."

I huffed in annoyance. "No. It means that my relationship has the better chance of working out in the end."

Byron closed his eyes and looked away.

Why couldn't he accept us? Why was he so against this being true? Sure, no father wants to hear that his daughter is in love with her English teacher, but once he realized that what Ezra and I had was real, what was going to stop him?

"I know you don't want this to be true… but it is." I said quietly.

Byron remained silent. I waited for a response from him but it never came. All of a sudden, Byron stood up and left the room.

How could he just walk away from this? He did not want to believe that my relationship with Ezra was real, so he thought that walking away from the situation would make it all go away?

I turned to Ella who was still sitting on the couch.

"Why are you okay with this?" I asked Ella curiously after a moment, referring to my relationship with Ezra.

Ella bit her lip for a moment before responding.

"Because… I've had more time to think about this and process it all. Ezra told me about your relationship while you were in the hospital. I've had time to see that Ezra really does care about you. It kind of came as a shock to Byron when he saw that note you and Ezra left us. That's why he's having such a hard time with this. I think… he thinks Ezra's going to take you away from him."

"But he's not!" I exclaimed.

Ella shook her head. "Byron doesn't know that."

I watched her as she got up from the couch and left the room.

I sunk down into the chair beside me and closed my eyes. How long was this going to go on for? When was Byron going to accept our relationship? Ezra and I have done everything we possible could to try to convince Byron that we truly loved each other. I guess it just wasn't enough.

**This story is going to be ending soon! Hope you liked this, PLEASE REVIEW! **


	21. Chapter 21

**Thanks for all your lovely reviews! : Anonymous, Irish, PrettyLittleFan, msbookworm93, NataliaRosePLL, hiding,my,heart, joice, Anon, Sara, Madam Thalia, Fanpire101, HarrylovesGinny09, bite-me-im-irish, me,love,to,read, SolitudeMyLove, Sofarsogood08, LauralovesPLL, nightmares,and,dreamers, Notinyourlifetimehoney, EzriaAddicted, and CurlyGirl2000! **

**400 reviews? You guys are so amazing! **

Ezra's POV

As I slowly entered my apartment, I let out a huge sigh as I leaned my back against the door behind me. It seemed like Aria and I were spending more time arguing with Byron than anything. He refused to budge on his opinion of our relationship.

Ella was able to see that what Aria and I had was real. Why couldn't Byron? I really didn't want to go back to all the hiding and sneaking around that came with my relationship with Aria while I was her teacher, but at this point, if we wanted to continue seeing each other, that seemed like the only option.

Hadn't the world thrown enough trouble at us? Why couldn't Aria and I just be happy? I just wanted one day, where Aria and I could be free from everyone's opinions, be open about our relationship, and not have to worry about what everyone else was going to do or say about us being together.

Aria deserved to be happy. She's been through so much already, and falling in love with me hasn't made her life any easier. If anything, being with me has only caused more secrets to be kept and lies to be told. But there was no question about it: it was all worth it. All the sneaking around, all the lies, was worth it if it meant that Aria and I could be together.

I knew that Byron had an affair with one of his students over a year ago, and I was sure that that was a factor in why he would not give Aria and I a chance.

He probably can't stop himself from comparing my relationship with Aria to his relationship with Meredith.

He's never seen Aria and I together and he has no idea what we've been through, so it's harder for him to see that we actually love each other.

I pushed my body off the door as I shrugged my coat off and sprawled it over the armchair of the couch. I let out a huge yawn as I headed to my bedroom. I changed into a pair of pajama pants before heading to the bathroom to brush my teeth.

When I was done, I laid down in bed, trying to put the days' events behind me.

Why did our love have to be so complicated? I wasn't even her teacher anymore!

I tossed and turned in the cold bed, wishing I were holding Aria's petite body in my arms.

Aria's POV

I lay in bed wide-awake, my thoughts going crazy.

I could still hear the faint sounds of Byron and Ella arguing about Ezra and I.

I'm so tired of this. I can't convince him anymore. He won't accept us and my only option is that in time, Byron will be okay with Ezra and I being together.

All Byron needed was a better understanding. A chance to see us as a couple. To see that Ezra and I really loved each other.

I reached into my purse sitting at the edge of my bed, to grab my phone to call Ezra. I just wanted to hear his voice. To my dismay, it was not in there. I groaned as I realized that Byron must have taken it away from me when I had gotten home.

Did Byron really think that cutting Ezra and I off from each other was going to break us up? If anything, not seeing him was only going to make me love him more, knowing how much I needed him in my life.

I closed my eyes and wrapped my arms around myself, imagining that it was Ezra's arms wrapped around my body instead of my own.

...PLL...

I tossed and turned for the next two hours, unable to fall asleep. I needed to feel Ezra's body beside mine. I craved the feeling of his arms wrapped around me as I rested my head on his chest.

"Screw this." I muttered to myself as I threw my comforter off of me. I grabbed a jacket that was sitting on the edge of my bed and my car keys from my dresser, before tiptoeing out of my room. I closed my bedroom door quietly behind me, before silently making my way downstairs. Before I knew it, I was in my car and heading over to Ezra's apartment.

I knocked quietly on his apartment door, hoping and praying that he wasn't asleep. I heard some shuffling around before the door opened up slowly, revealing a very shirtless Ezra.

"What are you doing here?" Ezra asked curiously as he ushered me inside before closing the door behind us. "It's two in the morning."

"I'm sorry, did I wake you up?" I set my bag down on the floor and turned to him.

"No, no I was just reading. Couldn't sleep."

"Yeah, me either." I said quietly as I sat down on the couch and brought my knees up to my chest.

A silence followed, both of us waiting for the other to break down over my father's attitude towards us.

"I just... I can't stand this," I whispered, as I felt my eyes welling up with tears.

"Aria..." Ezra whispered brokenly, as he sat down beside me and took me in his arms. I took a deep breath trying to calm myself as Ezra stroked his fingers through my long hair, holding me close against him.

"Every time he looks at me, it's with a look of disgust. Like he's ashamed to have me as his daughter. Why can't he just try? Try to accept this? Us?"

"I wish he would too, but we need to give him some time."

"How much? He did the same thing! And what happened because of that? Nothing!" I exclaimed angrily.

Ezra remained silent at this.

How could Byron be such a hypocrite? How could he be so mean? I thought he would be understanding of our relationship, but instead, he's everything from it.

"At least the hard part of telling your parents about us is over. He'll come around in time." He finally said after a few moments. "And your memories have mostly come back."

"Yeah…" I trailed off. "Thank you for helping me remember you again."

I tilted my head to look up at him as I spoke and gave him a small smile. He responded by kissing me softly for a moment, before pulling away.

"What did you do when I couldn't remember you?" I asked curiously as I twisted myself in his lap so I could look into his eyes.

Ezra shook his head. "The worst possible thoughts kept running through my mind. I couldn't understand how you could forget me, and no one else. I mean, if you had forgotten your parents and friends too, that would be one thing, but the fact that it was just me and your friend Alison, was unbelievable." He said quietly. Some of the hurt he was feeling was evident in his voice. I felt so bad that of all the people in my life, I ended up forgetting all about one of the most important people.

"At first, I thought... Maybe this was a sign, that our relationship really is wrong, and that this was my chance to just give it all up and forget about you..." Ezra trailed off.

I caressed his cheek with my thumb, waiting for him to continue.

He looked down at me with a smile. "But I couldn't give up on what we have. Its too special."

I nodded in agreement as I rested my head on his chest once again. Both of our breathing begun to slow, settling into a harmonious beat. I closed my eyes as he began running his fingers softly through my hair.

After a few moments, his hand stopped.

"Aria?" He asked curiously.

I tilted my head up to look up at him.

"What happened?" Ezra asked suddenly.

"What do you mean?" I responded, confused.

"Your accident." He clarified. "You hit your head and had a concussion. Who hit you?"

I wracked my brain as I tried to remember the night. It had been so long ago. I remembered running after Hanna into the woods behind Emily's backyard because she had stolen the shoes I had bought Spencer for her birthday.

"Damn it, Hanna." I mumbled to myself.

"What?" Ezra asked.

"I bought Spencer a pair of shoes for her birthday but Hanna stole them. She still has them."

"What does that have to do with your accident?" Ezra asked.

I remembered chasing Hanna through the forest and then splitting up with Emily when we could not find her. After looking everywhere, I had given up and started heading back towards Emily's backyard.

I closed my eyes as I tried to remember the night better.

_All of a sudden, I was standing in the forest. However, this memory was just like the one I had the first time I went to Ezra's apartment. Instead of seeing it from my own point of view, it was like I was watching it happen._

_I saw myself step over a pile of wet leaves. I gasped as I heard a rustle of leaves come from somewhere behind me as I watched myself look for the source of the sound. _

"_Hanna, seriously! Fine! You can keep the shoes! Can we just get out of here?" The other version of myself asked, looking around the forest frantically. _

_I stepped closer to myself, anxious to see what was going to happen. This was my accident. This was how I lost my memory. This was going to reveal everything. _

"_Ew." I heard myself mutter as I watched myself step over a pile of bright leaves. _

_I followed myself through the damp forest back towards Emily's house. _

_All of a sudden, I saw a figure emerge from behind the memory me, dressed in all black. There was a shovel in their hands and before I could comprehend anything, I watched the black figure hit me on the head with the shovel, before scrambling off into the forest. _

_I watched myself as I crumbled to the floor in seconds. _

_A did this to me. _

_But of course A did. Who else would it have been? _

_I left the memory me lying on the ground as I ran towards the direction A had gone. _

_I had to know who it was. _

_I ran after the figure, but the closer I caught up to them, the faster they ran. My breathing came harder as I continued to chase them. _

_All of a sudden, everything around me begun to fade away. I reached out to touch the trees beside me, but my hand only gripped air. _

"_No!" I exclaimed angrily, as the memory ceased to an end. _

**I'm going to be honest here. I honestly have no idea who A is and I could care less, as long as they don't mess with Ezria. Once A begins to mess with Ezria, I'll be so mad. And what the heck was up with A burning the pictures of Ezra and Toby? **

**Anyways, hope you guys liked this, PLEASE**** REVIEW! **


	22. Chapter 22

**Thanks so much for your reviews: msbookworm93, PrettyLittleFan, EzriaAddicted, PLLisLove, Notinyourlifetimehoney, nightmares,and,dreamers, HarrylovesGinny09, NataliaRosePLL, LauralovesPLL, bite-me-im-irish, hiding,my,heart, Teamezria, and GilmoreGirls945! **

"Byron, we can't keep doing this." I overheard Ella say from downstairs as I quietly snuck back into the house through Mike's window.

"So you're saying we should let our teenage daughter date her teacher?" Byron asked angrily.

"They really love each other." Ella said softly. "And it would be cruel of us to try and take that away from them."

Byron let out a hopeless sigh.

"Aria lost her memories for a reason, Byron. Ezra could have left her at any time. Her accident was the perfect opportunity to move on with his life, find someone new, and forget about Aria. But he didn't. He stuck with her through this and helped her get her memories back."

Ella paused for a moment, letting her words fully sink in.

"I just don't want to have to believe something like this." Byron finally admitted tiredly. "Aria and Fitz?" he shook his head. "Who would've known."

Why was it so hard for him to see that Ezra and I truly loved each other?

...PLL...

I woke up to the sunlight streaming brightly through my bedroom window. Throwing the covers off of me, I got out of bed and headed to the bathroom. I cranked the showerhead on, desperately wanting a few moments of peace to myself. After shedding my clothes, I stepped into the shower and let the scorching hot water soothe my body. The hot water quickly calmed my tense nerves. After running my loofa over my body and massaging my hair with shampoo and conditioner, I stepped out of the shower and wrapped a fluffy white towel around my petite body. I towel dried my hair, letting it fall in wet messy waves over my bare shoulders. I headed back to my room in search of a cute outfit. I had planned on surprising Ezra with a visit to Hollis early today.

As I walked over to my closet, I heard my phone buzz. I walked over to my bed and picked it up. A gasp escaped my lips as I read over the new text message.

_Practice makes perfect. Memories fade for a reason. Ready to lose yours again? -A_

…PLL…

I walked through the corridors of Hollis College, reading nameplate after nameplate, searching for Ezra's office.

As I finally reached it, I snuck a glance in the window of the door to find him sitting at his desk, grading a paper intently. He had a determined look on his face and was scribbling away at the paper with a red pen. As I slowly opened up the door, he looked up, a smile appearing on his face.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, as he set his pen down.

Before I could respond, a completely different image entered my mind. _Suddenly, I was sitting on top of Ezra's desk and he was sitting in his chair._

_"I never understood what people meant when they said they had an out of body experience... But after I heard Melissa scream... It was like everything was in slow motion."_

_Ezra was speechless for a moment as he processed my words._

_He let out a breathless sigh, shocked that all of this was happening to me._

_"Well, it's going to take a long time for that night to go away." He told me._

_"I know." I sighed, as I placed my hand over his on the desk._

_He looked down at our intertwined hands for a moment before looking back up at me._

_"I think the hardest part is just-" I was suddenly cut off by a knock on Ezra's door and a young woman with brunette hair walking in._

_"Hey Z, I wanted to-" She stopped abruptly as Ezra and I turned to her._

_I immediately jumped off of Ezra's desk and walked around to the front of it. He quickly got up from his chair too, and pushed it in before speaking._

_"Sorry, I didn't realize."_

_I nervously tucked my hands into the pockets of my dress as Ezra spoke. "Hey Jackie, this is Aria... A former student of mine."_

_I narrowed my eyes at him for a moment. Why was he introducing me as a former student? Why not as his girlfriend?_

_"I think we've met actually. Aren't you Professor Montgomery's daughter?" Jackie asked curiously._

_"Yeah, we met at my parent's place, I think." I plastered a fake smile on my face, pretending to be interested in her._

_Jackie looked between Ezra and I, a small smile on her face._

_Ezra stood nervously between us._

_"I was just on the way to my dad's office when I ran into... Mr. Fitz." I trailed off, motioning towards Ezra, but unsure of how to address my 'former teacher.'_

_"She's not your student anymore. I think you can let the girl call you by your first name." Jackie gave Ezra another smile._

_"Oh." Ezra looked at me and smiled, as he let out a breathy chuckle at her comment, obviously at a loss for words._

_"I just stopped by because the psych department moved their conference to Friday. We don't have to take over your lecture hall after all."_

_I looked her up and down; she really just needed to leave._

_"Cool." Ezra responded; obviously eager for her to leave too._

_"Nice seeing you again, Aria." Jackie smiled again._

_"Mhmm you too." I spoke with a fake smile on my face._

_Ezra followed her to the door and closed it firmly behind her._

_"Z?" I asked, referring to the nickname Jackie had called him by._

_"All of my college friends call me that." Ezra responded as he walked back over to me._

_"Yeah well, from ages two to seven my family used to call me pookie bear... But all good things must come to an end." I confessed._

_"Aria." Ezra said, jokingly, but sternly._

_"I'm sorry, it's just frustrating, you know?" I walked closer to him and took his hands in mine. "The whole point of you working here was so that you wouldn't have to introduce me as your former student." I spoke, unable to hide the irritation and disappointment laced thorough out my tone._

_"You didn't have to offer up that stuff about your dad." Ezra responded, defending himself. "You basically demoted me to a pit stop."_

_Crap. He got me on this one._

_"Okay, whatever." I quickly said. "Clearly, we both need to find some way to warm people up to the idea of us as a couple." I said._

_Ezra brought his hands up to my face and brushed my hair from my eyes. "How about, I start introducing you as pookie bear?" he asked sarcastically._

_"Mhmm." I pretended to contemplate his statement. "No."_

_I couldn't help but smile as I removed his hands from my face and laced our fingers together._

_"How about you just start introducing me as a friend?" I asked._

_Ezra chuckled. "Okay. Sounds like a plan."_

_He placed his hands on either side of my face as our mouths met in a sweet kiss._

I set my bag down on the couch in his office as I slowly made my way closer to him.

Who was that lady in my memory? She seemed to know Ezra pretty well, but he seemed really uncomfortable when talking to her.

"I just wanted to see you." I replied, as I walked around his desk and sat down on top of it. I dangled my feet off the edge as Ezra moved his chair closer to me.

"Aria, did you just remember something else? You kind of zoned out."

I looked up at him but avoided his eyes. I didn't want to lie to him, but I wasn't sure I wanted to know the truth either.

"Who's Jackie?" I asked.

Ezra sucked in a breath at my statement.

"No one important." Ezra finally said, after a few moments of silence.

I scrunched my eyes at him. What wasn't he telling me? I'd have to pester him about whoever this person was, later.

"How are things at home?" He asked cautiously, changing the subject completely.

"Byron's... Coming around." I said dejectedly.

I turned my gaze away from Ezra and to the window. I couldn't stop thinking about the text A had sent me earlier. Was A really going to hurt me again? What kind of a question was that? Of course they were.

"Are you okay?" Ezra asked.

"Y-yeah, yeah." I quickly replied, turning my gaze away from the window and back to Ezra.

Ezra gave me a knowing look. "Aria, I know you well enough to know when you're lying. What's bothering you?" Ezra asked.

I knew I couldn't keep this from him any longer.

"I got a text from A today." I confessed.

Ezra's POV

I could not help the shocked expression that crossed my face for a moment, before letting it turn into anger. "I thought you stopped getting messages from them?"

"Yeah, I thought so too."

"When did you get it? What did it say? And why didn't you tell me earlier?" I asked.

"This morning…" I watched Aria as she pulled out her phone and opened up the text message before handing it to me.

I remained silent as I read over the text before handing the phone back to her.

"Aria, we need to figure out who this person is!" I exclaimed. Was A still tormenting Spencer, Hanna, and Emily too? "I can't keep watching you go through this." I said softly.

"Yeah, but how?"

"I don't know." I confessed tiredly.

"It's just scary…" Aria said softly. "A's watching my every move. A knows _everything."_

I took both of her hands in mine and pulled her towards me, away from the desk and onto my lap.

"Don't worry Aria. I won't let them hurt you." I told her as I brushed a few strands of hair away from her eyes.

She gave him a small smile. I hoped she knew that I would always be there for her and do everything I can to protect her.

She moved closer to me as she closed the small gap between us, letting our mouths meet in a soft kiss. She pulled away a moment later.

"What are you afraid of?" She asked me curiously.

I looked down into her hazel eyes.

"You know what I'm afraid of." I said softly after a moment.

Of course she knew. My biggest fear in life was losing her. Never being able to see her, touch her, or be with her, ever again.

I had already lost her once because of her accident and I didn't know if I had the strength to go through that again.

"Well," Aria said as she placed her arms around my neck. "Let's just hope that we don't have to go through any of this ever again."

I could not help but smile at her statement.

**I hope it's not just me, but this lack of Ezria is killing me. What do the writers think this is? The only episode that's focused on them all season was 2x14! The season is halfway over and there's been barely any Ezria! I don't know if I can handle this anymore. **

**Hope you guys liked this, PLEASE REVIEW! **


	23. Note PLEASE READ

So I'm really conflicted. I don't know whether to end this story in a few more chapters, or to bring another element into the story. The main plot line has been resolved; Aria remembers Ezra. The only thing left to deal with really is Byron. I have loved working on this story, but I feel like it should be ending soon. I could bring in Ezra's family, if you guys would like that. That will make it a few more chapters than planned. Otherwise, I'll just write the last few chapters then end it. Let me know what you guys would like to see!

Love always,


	24. Chapter 24

**Thank you so much for all your reviews! : EzriaAddicted, bite-me-im-irish, Mlollylucy, nightmares,and,dreamers, Notinyourlifetimehoney, sandra1992, HarrylovesGinny09, hiding,my,heart, Prettylittlefan, The Happy Emo, ClaireBearRAWR, msbookworm93, anon, jils, SophieeLeon, anon, Aerize, jills, and TheBoyWithTheSnares! **

**I'm so sorry that I take forever to update my stories. I'm so thankful that you still stick with me through all this, even though I make you guys wait forever for new chapters. I have the most amazing readers; you guys are truly all so incredible. **

**June is so far away. This is actually so painful. I hate hiatuses. But then during the season, I hate waiting a whole week for every new episode. We're never gonna win haha. **

**I think I really love this chapter. Especially the beginning. Loveeee. **

**Nightmares,and,dreamers: I promise you'll like this chapter. **

**Prettylittlefan: He didn't lie to her, he was telling the truth: She's no one important. She isn't coming up in the story physically, so I didn't feel the need for Ezra to tell Aria about her all over again because we all know it will cause drama, and I'd rather not bring that aspect into the story. **

The rain pounded heavily against the windowsills as the TV cast a bright light across the otherwise dark apartment.

It was getting late and I knew I needed to head home soon, but I could not muster up the strength to remove myself from Ezra's embrace.

Neither of us was really paying any attention to the movie that was playing. His fingers were gently stroking through my long dark hair as we sat cuddled together on the couch. Occasionally we would grab a handful of popcorn from the bowl sitting on the table in front of us and feed some to either each other or to ourselves.

It was moments like these that I had missed so much. Over time, memories of our Friday nights and lazy Saturdays were beginning to resurface.

I was finally beginning to remember the small moments in our relationship that were significant in their own special way: a casual brushing of the fingers as Ezra handed me back an essay during class. Locking hands underneath the table during my parents' family dinners, while we pretended to be interested in whatever conversation was being held. Staying after school for hours on end pretending to be working on an "extra credit assignment."

I looked up at Ezra to find that he was not paying any attention to the movie either. He must have been watching me, as I was deep in thought.

"What are you thinking about?" He asked softly.

"You." I paused for a moment. "Us."

He smiled at me for a moment, before I titled my head up to look at him properly. He closed the gap between us as our lips met in a gentle kiss. I turned myself in his arms so that I was facing him as I lightly grazed his cheek with my fingers. His tongue traced my lower lip before I all too willingly granted him entrance. I pressed my body closer to his as I deepened the kiss. His hand cupped my face before moving languidly down my arm. I locked my arms around his neck and began to play with the baby hairs at the nape of his neck. Our tongues massaged each other's gently as I pulled his body closer to mine. A tingling sensation rushed through my body at the feel of his skin against mine as we kissed each other eagerly.

I let out a sigh against his lips.

How could I have forgotten this? The feelings that ran through me when I was with Ezra, let alone when I was kissing him, were impossible to forget. All I wanted, needed, was to have him in my life. To be here with him.

"Ezra..." I whispered, against his lips.

As I suddenly broke off the kiss, Ezra looked at me with confusion written all over his face.

I smiled, to assure him that everything was okay.

Everything was finally falling into place. This was where I was supposed to be. This was where I belonged: here, in Ezra's arms.

I knew that there was so much love written in my eyes at that moment, that there was no way that he did not know what I was going to say.

He looked at me with only love portrayed in his eyes as he waited for me to continue.

I grazed Ezra's cheek with my thumb before finally speaking.

"I love you." I whispered, softly.

Ezra looked at me for a moment before our lips quickly met again with a renewed passion. Our mouths molded perfectly against each other's as Ezra tangled his fingers in my hair. Our heavy breathing filled the room. I kissed him harder and deeper as my fingers clutched frantically at his waist, pulling him as close as possible to me.

Ezra broke off the kiss again and I groaned at the loss of contact.

"I love you too, Aria. More than you'll ever know." His gaze locked on mine was so intense and full of emotion that I could not help but fall in love with him all over again. A smile lit up my face before our lips met again. He cupped my cheeks in his hands, deepening the kiss. As he bit down softly on my bottom lip, I let out a moan in pleasure. I moved my hands towards the bottom of his shirt as I untucked it from his pants. Ezra moaned against my lips as I slipped my hands under his shirt and lightly caressed the skin there. I kissed him hungrily, pushing my tongue into his mouth as he wrapped his arms around my back and pulled my body flush against his.

I tightened my fingers in his hair as his hands grazed my thighs, bringing them around his waist. I locked my legs around his waist, straddling him as my legs held his body against mine.

An annoying buzzing suddenly whisked both of us out of our passionate frenzy.

I groaned loudly as Ezra gently pushed me off of him to look for the source of our interruption.

"It's your phone." He pointed to my ringing cell on the table.

"Why do I have a feeling that this has happened before?" I asked Ezra, as picked up my phone and looked at the caller ID.

_Mom. _

I sighed and pressed talk.

"Hello?"

"Aria." My mother's voice said in a worried tone on the other line.

"Yeah, what's going on?" I asked.

"Are you still at Ezra's?"

I furrowed my brow. "Yeah, why?"

"You need to come home, it's late."

I glanced towards the clock to see that we had clearly lost track of time. It was almost midnight.

"Sorry." I quickly apologized. "We were watching a movie and lost track of time." I half lied. It was kind of true, right?

"I'll be home soon." I assured her before hanging up.

I turned back to Ezra as I set my phone back on the table.

"To answer your previous question, that's because it has happened before."

"What are you talking about?" I asked confused as to what in the world he was referring to.

"One of your parents calling us while we were kissing? Today was the second time that has happened." He chuckled.

"Seriously?" I looked at him in disbelief. "Who was it the first time?"

"Your dad."

I had yet to recall the memory he was talking about. "What did he want?" I asked curiously.

Ezra had a small smile on his face as he shook his head. "He wanted to apologize for the way he treated me at the parents teacher conferences… and he invited me out for a drink."

"Did you go?" I gasped in astonishment.

Ezra nodded. "Your dad is the reason I work at Hollis."

I sighed. This was ridiculous. What had changed in Ezra then and now? "He liked you then, why can't he like you now?"

"Hey," Ezra said softly as he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. "He'll come around eventually."

I sighed in response before wrapped in my arms around Ezra's neck and dragging him down to my height for a kiss. Our lips met in a short sweet, kiss. As I was about to pull away, Ezra wrapped his arms around my back, holding my close against him.

"I really need to go." I whispered against his lips.

"You could… stay." He mumbled against my lips.

I couldn't help but smile as his mouth moved to my neck and he bit down softly.

"Ezra, I _ really _need to go." I giggled as I used all of my self-restraint to gently push him away instead of attacking his lips right then and there. I knew that if I preformed the latter, I would never leave his apartment.

"Call me later?" He asked as he opened the apartment door for me.

"Of course." I smiled.

…PLL…

I looked up from my journal as I heard a knock on my bedroom door.

"Come in." I said, as I picked my pen back up again.

"Can we talk?"

I looked up to see my dad standing at my doorway. He looked exhausted. Obviously all this arguing was wearing him out.

I sighed and turned back to my journal. "Dad, I don't want to fight with you anymore. I'm only sixteen and I'm getting really tired of this. But I need you to understand that Ezra's not going anywhere." I said, without beating around the bushes.

I was sick and tired of dealing with him. The dirty looks he would give me at dinner, the way he only badmouthed Ezra. I was not going to do this anymore.

"You cheated on mom with a _ student._ That is so _hypocritical _of you to be acting this way about Ezra and I." I said bitterly.

"I would take it back if I could." Byron said, as he sat down next to me on my bed.

"Well I wouldn't. I wouldn't change meeting Ezra for anything." I said, trying to bring the conversation to a close.

What had I been expecting to result from this conversation? For him to finally give me his approval on our relationship? At the rate we were going, there was no use holding my breath.

"Aria, I'm trying to protect you. I know you can't see it now, but what are you going to do when he leaves you? He is going to hurt you. Why can't you understand that?" Byron half pleaded with me.

"Why can't you see that you're the one hurting me? Not him." I asked, looking up at him in disbelief.

Why was he trying so hard? Was he never going to give up?

"He has never done anything to me. And if you took the time to give us a chance and let us explain you would realize that he loves me just as much as I love him. Probably more."

"Aria…" Byron shook his head at me.

"No!" I exclaimed. "It seems that everyone can see that we love each other except you!"

"Aria, how do we know that the moment you graduate and turn eighteen, that Ezra isn't going to take you away from us? He'll want to get married and start a family. Is that what you want? He's going to tie you down. Don't you understand that? You're going to miss out on so many opportunities in your life and all the plans you made because you're dating him!" Byron exclaimed, trying to make me see his 'reasons.'

"What does that even mean?" I screeched. "Ezra has never stopped me from doing anything I wanted to do and _ you know that_."

He let out a heavy sigh as he got up from the bed and begun walking towards the door. I ran my fingers over the page I had been writing on before looking back up at him.

"Can you just _try_ to give us a chance? I don't want to fight with you anymore, but I'm not going to break up with Ezra." I said softly, causing him to stop just outside my doorway.

He turned around to face me, but said nothing. I waited a moment longer for him to speak, but no words came out of his mouth.

"Whatever, dad." I turned back to my journal but before I could pick up my pen again, my phone began to ring.

"Who is it?" Byron asked, still standing in my doorway.

"Who do you think it is?" I could not help the sarcasm that filled my voice as I picked up my phone and glanced at the caller ID.

"You are not allowed to talk to me like that." Byron said.

Byron huffed in annoyance before finally leaving the room. My phone had stopped ringing before I had the chance to answer.

As I was about to call Ezra back, I decided to just go over to his apartment and surprise him.

As I reached the floor of Ezra's apartment ten minutes later, I pulled they spare key he had given me out of my bag and unlocked the door.

"Hey babe, I got yo-" I stopped midsentence as I realized that that Ezra was not alone.

Standing near the kitchen were an older woman and a man who seemed to be around Ezra's age, who I assumed were his mother and brother. Sitting on the couch that Ezra and I had made so many memories on, was who I presumed to be Ezra's father.

I silently turned to look at Ezra, who was watching me with fear in his eyes.

Why didn't he tell me his family was in Rosewood? As far as I knew, they did not know much about our relationship, and with everything that was going on with Byron, I did not know if I could handle any more people telling me how wrong my relationship with Ezra is.

"Well," Ezra's brother said, breaking the silence. "Aren't you going to introduce her to us?"

Ezra nervously glanced at his family, before turning back to me.

"This is Aria. My… girlfriend."

**Hope you guys liked this chapter! Review please! Can we get to 450? . **


	25. Chapter 25

**Thank you so much for your reviews! : Serenithy 31, EzriaLover406, Prettylittlefan, Pretty-Little-Ezria, hiding,my,heart, HarrylovesGinny09, nightmares,and,dreamers, bite-me-im-irish, Nabrenda12, scribbler0604, EzriaAddicted, LisPar, jills, love99, sal, LauralovesPLL, anon, and Notinyourlifetimehoney! **

"Why does she have a key to your apartment and I don't?" Ezra brother asked. "Imagine the things she does in here when you're not around."

Ezra shot him a glare as my cheeks turned red in embarrassment.

"So this is the famous Aria." Ezra's father grinned. "Ezra's talked a lot about you."

I turned to Ezra, silently asking him what exactly he had told his parents about me.

"Good things I hope?" I forced out a small laugh, still trying to get over the initial shock that I was standing in Ezra's apartment with his _family._

"Of course." His mother said. "I'm Dianne, Ezra's mother. This is my husband, William."

"It's nice to meet you." I smiled.

"How long have you two been together?" Ezra's father asked. He picked up a random book that was sitting on Ezra's coffee table and began leafing through the pages. I bit my lip as I immediately recognized the book in his hands: The special edition copy of To Kill a Mockingbird, I had bought for him the day he left Rosewood High.

"About a year." Ezra answered.

"Why haven't you introduced her to us yet? Obviously you knew that things were going to work out. I'm assuming you don't paint your nails, Ezra. Look, she practically lives here." His brother gestured to my pile of nail polishes sitting on Ezra's desk as he sat down on the couch.

I tried to hide the deep scarlet blush that was forming on my cheeks.

I was secretly so thankful that Ezra's parents were being so nice to me. Every time I had envisioned the scenario of Ezra introducing me to them, it always ended badly.

"We weren't ready to tell anyone." He revealed.

"Why not?" William asked in confusion.

"In case it didn't work out." Ezra lied smoothly.

"We knew it would work out." I said quietly, unable to stop myself. I tried to hide my growing smile, but failed. Despite everything that the two of us had been through, it had indeed, all worked out.

"Why did you wait so long though? You told us about Jackie a week after the two of you met."

Jackie. Jackie. The name sounded so familiar but I could not place where I had heard it before.

"Please, don't talk about her. It was a mistake and it's over." Ezra said quickly.

"You didn't see it as a mistake when you asked her to marry you." Ezra's brother joked.

I turned to Ezra's brother questioningly. As soon as he saw the look of confusion on my face, his smile disappeared. I turned to Ezra, who had sat down on the couch with his eyes closed and his head in his hands.

"W-wait. Stop. _ Who's Jackie?" _I asked frantically; as my heartbeat sped up every moment Ezra spend delaying telling me the truth about this person.

_A moment later, I was shoving random items into my purse as anger coursed through my veins. Phone. Wallet. Gum. What was he thinking? He knew she would be working at Hollis and he applied for a job there without saying anything to me about it? How could he lie to me like that? I thought he loved me. If he truly loved me he would not have lied. My body froze as I heard my bedroom door opening behind me. I let out a deep breath, knowing exactly who was standing behind me. I should have been ecstatic that Ezra was finally seeing my room for the first time. Instead, anger and betrayal were flowing through my body. How could he lie to me? _

_As I heard the door close behind him, I finally turned around to face him. By the time he finally gathered the courage to look at me, I could see all the guilt he felt visibly portrayed in his eyes. _

_Good. He deserved to feel like that. He told me he loved me a few days ago, yet now he was lying to me about his ex-fiancée! _

"_What were you thinking?" I scoffed angrily. "What? It didn't occur to you that she'd be here tonight?" _

"_No. It didn't, Aria. I haven't seen her since last summer, and she was a TA then."_

God Ezra, who cares if she was a TA then? She worked there and now you're working there too! She's the one who broke the relationship off, not you! How do I know that she won't find some way to get back together with you? She's your age and your relationship with her would be legal! The two of you would be able to do everything you wish you could do with me. You almost married her!_ I though to myself. _

"_But I can't help but think that you still have feelings for her." I said bitterly. "There's no other reason for you to keep that from me!" I rationalized. _

"_She is not a part of my life anymore." He assured me. _

"_Yes she is!" I exclaimed, unable to handle his beating around the bushes any longer. Why was he acting like this? "She's downstairs having wine with my _dad!" _I bit out. _

"_I screwed up!" He exclaimed, probably just to keep me in the room a few moments longer. _

"_Not telling me about her was a lie." _

"_I'm sorry." He shook his head, disappointed with himself. _

_I shook my head at him. "Until today, you were the one guy who had never lied to me." I left the room, unable to handle his lies any longer. _

"Whoa, honey, are you okay?" Dianne asked as she put an arm around my shoulders.

"Y-yeah. Of course. What do you mean?" I looked up at her in confusion.

What was wrong with me? Was I okay? I had just found out Ezra had a fiancée that he failed to tell me about!

"You kind of spaced out." Ezra's brother commented.

So that's what I looked like when I remembered memories.

"Are you sure, you look really pale. Ezra, get her a glass of water." Dianne said.

I thanked Ezra as he handed me a glass of water. I took a sip of it, letting the ice-cold water sooth my throat.

I had to talk to him in private. I needed to know why he lied to me about Jackie.

"Care to explain what just happened?" William asked Ezra.

Ezra looked at me questioningly, as if asking permission to tell his parents about my accident.

I nodded slightly. I knew that if I kept spacing out like this, there were sure to ask more questions and the truth would come out eventually.

"Aria got hurt a while back, and it caused her to lose some of her memories." Ezra explained.

"Oh dear. You poor girl!" Dianne put her hand over her mouth in shock as she sat down next to me on the couch.

"How much did you forget?" William asked curiously.

I took a deep breath before answering. "Everything about Ezra and some very important things about one of my best friends." I kept out the part about forgetting about my stalker for good reason. I really was not in the mood to explain who A was.

"She forgot everything about you?" Dianne asked Ezra, sympathetically. "Were you together back then?"

Ezra nodded. "It was hard, but most of her memories have come back. There are just a few that are still… hiding themselves."

"Well I'm glad you're doing better now, Aria." William said.

I smiled, in thanks.

"But you didn't answer our other question." Ezra's brother piped up. "Why'd you wait so long to tell us you were seeing someone?" 

"We wanted to tell her parents first." Ezra explained uncomfortably, thankfully leaving out some very big reasons why we didn't tell his parents about us.

"Why? Aren't we as equally as important?" Dianne joked.

Ezra shifted uncomfortably. "There were some… complications, we had to overcome before we could tell her parents. We told them first because her parents actually live in Rosewood." He explained.

I shared an uncomfortable glance with Ezra, both of us clearly unsure of what to say next.

"Ezra?" I looked at him nervously. "Can I talk to you for a minute?" I tilted my head towards his bedroom as I silently told him to meet me in there.

"We'll be right back." Ezra told his parents, as he followed me out of the room, leaving his parents and brother confused in the living room.

"What just happened?" I asked frantically as I sat down on the bed in shock. Before he could speak, I interrupted him. "Your _ parents _are here. How much do they know? What do they know? Oh my god, how old do they think I am? Are they going to flip out like my parents did? I'm not ready for this! Oh my god, why didn't you tell me? They're going to kill us when they find out the truth! Oh god, they probably hate me alr-" My rant was abruptly cut off as I felt Ezra's lips against mine. I relaxed into the kiss as he kissed me softly and gently, helping me relax my nerves.

"Shh.." He whispered against my lips.

He placed his hands on either side of my face as he stared into my eyes. "Calm down. Don't worry yourself over nothing."

I took a deep breath as my heartbeat slowed down.

"They don't know anything. And they don't need to know anything that we don't want to tell them." He assured me.

Clearly he hadn't told his parents about us, so how much was he planning on telling them about us now?

"If they ask me how old I am, what am I supposed to say?"

Ezra sat down next to me on the bed. "Honestly, I don't know. I was just as unprepared for this as you are. They called me an hour ago and told me they were driving down to Rosewood from New York. I called you to tell you not to come over in case you were planning to, but obviously you didn't get my message."

"I'm sorry. I was arguing with my dad."

Ezra let out a dry laugh. "I'm sure if and when my parents find out the truth about us, my family will blow up just as much as yours. If not more."

I caressed his cheek and tilted his head so he was looking at me. "Hey," I said softly. "Our parent's opinions don't matter right now. The only thing that's important is that we love each other."

"Sometimes love isn't enough." Ezra whispered.

I shook my head at him in disbelief. Where did he get that from? How could he say something like that? After everything Ezra and I have been through? "How could you say that?" I whispered in shock. "You are the _ last _person whose mouth those words should be coming out of! Have you forgotten that I forgot _ everything _ about you?"

"How could I forget that, Aria?" He asked me angrily as he got up from the bed. "I'm in love with you! When you woke up in that hospital bed and asked me who I was… I didn't think I would ever get you back again. I was in love with someone who had no idea who I was." He reminded me.

"Well I know who you are now." I stood up from the bed and wrapped my arms around his neck. "And I love you." I said as I brushed a lock of his hair away from his eyes. "So let's just go back in there and see what happens. We can tell them that I'm sixteen and that we met at Snookers, but we don't need to tell them that I was your student if you don't want to. Personally, I'd rather not." I confessed.

He took a deep breath and nodded in agreement. "Okay. Let's go." He took my hand in his and led me back into the living room.

"There you two are. Everything okay? We heard some yelling." Dianne asked curiously.

"Yeah." I smiled at Ezra knowingly. "Everything is fine."

"I'd like to meet your family. Wouldn't that be fun? All of us having dinner together?" Dianne smiled.

I smirked at Ezra, knowing both of us knew exactly how disastrous a dinner with the Fitz's and Montgomery's would go down. One family knows that Ezra was my ex English teacher, and the other family thinks that Ezra and I were just an ordinary couple.

"Wait." Ezra's father suddenly said. "You said your name is Aria?"

I nodded in confusion.

"Montgomery?" He asked, looking at me skeptically.

"Y-yeah." I replied.

"Did you give Ezra this book?" He held up the book in his hands that he had been looking through.

I nodded, confused on why the fact that I had bought Ezra a book was such a big issue.

All of a sudden, the pieces clicked and I quickly realized why Ezra's father was confused. However, it was too late. William had already read the note I had scribbled on the front page.

"Why do you say that you'll miss him in class and why do you call him Mr. Fitz?"

**I won't be able to update for a few weeks because I have finals coming up, but after school gets out, I'll be completely free! Hope you guys liked this, please review! **


	26. NOTE

Are you guys getting bored of this story? If people are losing interest, I can end it. The thing is, when I asked if you guys wanted me to end it or add another element (ezra's family) you guys said not to end it! I had 234 visitors and 305 hits on this last chapter I wrote, but I only got 6 reviews. I used to get an average of 20 reviews per chapter, so I feel like no is reading my stories anymore.

Thank you so much to those of you who do review, it really means the world to me and it makes me so happy knowing that people are enjoying my stories. I write not only for myself but to entertain my readers as well. It's hard for me to do if not many people read.

I always welcome constructive critism and ways people think I can improve in my writing. I'm always open to reader's idea's of things they want to happen in the story as well.

Thank you so much to those of you who review, it means the world.


	27. Chapter 27

**Thanks so much for your reviews: ezriaFTW, angelface, anon, EzriaAddicted, xTwilightxSparklesx, AddictedToEzria, EzriaLover406, HarrylovesGinny09, Hiding,my,heart, emi13097, Notinyourlifetimehoney, CrazyLove345, LauralovesPLL, Anonymous, Moni, anon, alannaxsaddy, Judith, Nabrenda12, thehelloitsme, chocomonkey1018, bite-me-im-irish, and nightmares,and,dreamers! **

"Umm.." I began slowly, as I tried to wrack my brain for a reasonable explanation. I snuck a panicked glance at Ezra, unsure of how to respond.

Ezra opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. He sighed and looked down, clearly afraid to face his parent's wrath when they realized the truth about our relationship.

"Ezra." Dianne's eyes never left her son's face as she spoke to him with a prestigious tone. "Are you going to bother to explain or do I have to say it out loud?"

William shook his head and sunk down into the chair beside him. He set the book down as he put his head in his hands.

"Is Aria your student?" Dianne finally asked the dreaded question.

"No." Ezra answered, without skipping a beat, as he finally looked up to meet his parents' distraught gazes.

Ezra's brother, Derek, raised his eyebrows at his brother.

"God, Ezra, why even bother lying? We already know the truth! Why would you do this? Did you take advantage of her? Yes, she's beautiful, but were you really unable to control yourself? How could you do something like this?" Dianne cried out in disbelief that her own son would commit such a crime.

"Didn't we raise you better than this? Dating your student is _ wrong _Ezra, and you know it. So why the hell would you do it? Is she worth going to jail for? Risking your whole career? Your whole life? You're throwing it all away for a fling with your high school student?" William cried out.

"What the hell was going through your mind that made you think this was oka-?" William continued before Ezra interrupted him.

"Will you stop?" Ezra snapped at his parents as he walked over to me and took my hand in his. "You don't know anything about our relationship so stop making assumptions about the worst and let us explain."

"The son I raised wouldn't have pursued a relationship with his high school student. Your student? Really Ezra?" Dianne asked in discouragement.

I watched Ezra as he leaned against the wall behind him and looked down to the ground to avoid his parents' gaze.

Was he asking himself if I really was worth all this trouble? If I really was worth risking everything for he'd ever wanted for? Was I worth all that? I love him so much, but was love enough? Was I enough?

"How old are you anyway?" William asked, turning to me.

"Uh..." I glanced at Ezra, silently asking him whether or not I should tell them the truth about my age.

Distraught, he gave a small nod, knowing it was better not to lie to his parents.

"I'll be seventeen in a month." I finally revealed.

"You have got to be kidding me." Derek said in disbelief. "Really bro? A sixteen year old?"

Ezra glanced at me for a moment before turning back to his family. "I didn't know she was sixteen when we met. I thought she was in college."

"What does that mean? She was sitting at a desk in the front of your classroom!" Dianne cried out.

"No, she wasn't." Ezra clarified. "We met before the school year started."

"And it didn't occur to you to ask her age when you met?" William said, exasperated.

"No, it didn't." Ezra said. "She doesn't look sixteen, and if you hadn't seen that book, you wouldn't have even asked her age."

"Wait, wait, wait." Derek interrupted. "So is she your student or not?"

Ezra's parents looked at Ezra expectantly, waiting for him to spill and admit he was dating his student.

"She's not my student." Ezra clarified.

They hated me. They absolutely hated me. I knew that once they found out the truth, they would hate me even more. Who knew if they would ever forgive Ezra? Ezra and I had never really discussed how we would explain the details about our relationship to his parents. Truthfully, neither of us had been prepared for this at all.

"Just tell them the truth Ezra, they'll find out eventually, if not from us, then from my parents. I'm sure my father will love to bond over wine with your parents as they discuss how wrong and inappropriate our relationship is." I snapped, unable to stop myself. I was just so sick of people judging my relationship with Ezra when they didn't know anything about it.

I knew that Ezra had never seen me act like this before. I could tell by the look on his face that my words had taken him completely by surprise.

"Are you sure?" Ezra turned to look at me as he asked me quietly. His eyes never left mine as he waited for a response.

Was I really ready to reveal everything about my relationship with their son to Ezra's parents? What if, despite telling them our story, they still didn't accept us? What if they thought I wasn't good enough for Ezra? That he deserved someone better? Someone who he could take out on a date without receiving looks and stares? Someone who he could bring home to meet his parents, who they would gush over and congratulate him on finding such an amazing girl?

Instead of the dream girl his parents expected him to introduce them to, Ezra was introducing a sixteen-year-old girl who was once a student in his high school English class, as the girl who had captured his heart. Clearly, his parents would be more than a little disappointed.

"Ezra and I met the day I got back from Iceland. It was a few days before school started. We started talking and realized we shared a lot of the same interests. We began seeing each other but neither of us knew the situation we would end up in. The first day of school, I walked into English class to see Ezra standing at the front of the classroom introducing himself as Mr. Fitz. We knew our relationship was wrong because we were now teacher and student and we tried to break it off multiple times, but we just kept coming back to each other." I explained.

"Even though our relationship didn't look right, it felt right, and that was all that mattered." Ezra finished for me. "I'm not her teacher anymore and we've been together for almost a year. It would be nice if you accepted Aria, but honestly," Ezra paused, looking between his family, "We're going to stay together no matter what you think about us."

My heart swelled with awe at how Ezra had just stood up for our relationship. He didn't care what his family thought about him dating his former student. He didn't care what they thought of him for becoming that teacher, who fell in love with his student.

"You do know, Ezra," William began in a low voice. "That if anyone found out that you had a relationship with Aria while you were her teacher, you could be put in jail?"

Ezra squeezed my hand in his. "I know that. But it would be worth it. I wouldn't take back meeting Aria for anything."

"Do her parents know?" Dianne asked tentatively.

"Yeah, they do." I answered.

"And?" Dianne looked at me expectantly.

"Her mother is fine with it." Ezra answered.

"And her father?" William cut in, picking up on Ezra specifying Ella's response to our relationship.

"He's... Coming around." I finished lamely.

"What the hell does that mean?" William demanded.

"He was angry at first," Ezra began.

"I wonder why." Derek muttered under his breath.

"But he's realizing how much Aria and I love each other." Ezra finished, before giving his brother an annoyed look.

William shook his head at Ezra. "She still has to finish high school, then go to college. What if she chooses a school on the other side of the country? What will you do?"

"I'll go with her." Ezra stated, his voice oozing obviousness.

Would he really follow me wherever I went for school?

"Are you forgetting about everything you ever worked for? How do you know this is actually going to work out? You were her teacher; your relationship with her is probably just a fantasy she once had that you had the pleasure of fulfilling." The look Dianne was giving Ezra showed just how disappointed and furious she was at Ezra for being in a relationship with me.

"Do not talk about her like that." Ezra bit out at his mother. "I told you, we met before we knew we would be teacher and student!"

"Yet you still continued this-this-whatever this is!" William cut in, motioning between Ezra and I.

They were never going to accept us. Hearing Ezra's parents tell him how big of a mistake he was making by being in a relationship with me was more painful than listening to Byron telling me how wrong my relationship with Ezra was. Hearing that it was a mistake was a lot more painful than hearing it was wrong.

"Yes, I did continue our relationship!" Ezra fired back, putting a name to his parent's description of 'this.' "I'm in love with her! We've been through hell and back and we're still together! Does that prove _nothing_ to the two of yo-," Ezra was abruptly cut off as a knock on the door interrupted the yelling.

Ezra shook his head at his parents for a moment before turning to face me with a questioning look on his face.

Ezra and I shared a glance, confused on who would be stopping by to see Ezra at this time.

Ezra opened the door and let out a gasp as he saw the person on the other side.

A silence commenced for a moment before the person finally spoke.

"Is Aria here?"

"Y-yeah." Ezra said hesitantly.

"May I come in?" A voice I knew so well asked.

As soon as I heard my father's voice, I hurried towards the door, pushing past Ezra, so I was standing in front of Byron.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him in disbelief. Of all the moments for him to show up at Ezra's apartment to give Ezra another lecture about his relationship with me, why did it have to be now? When Ezra's parents were already lecturing Ezra on the same topic?

Byron let out a sigh as he turned back to Ezra. "I wanted to talk to the two of you."

"Talk to us or yell at us some more?" I muttered under my breath. I knew it was a mean statement, but under the circumstances, I could not help myself.

"Talk to you." Byron clarified. "Ella and Mike are in the car so lets try to make this quick. Convince me in under ten minutes why I should let you two stay in this relationship."

"Dad, we don't have time for this. Ezra's kind of dealing with other problems right now." I opened the door a little bit wider so Byron could get a glimpse of Ezra's parents, who were sitting together in the far corner of Ezra's apartment, muttering to each other in low voices. Derek was sitting on Ezra's bed, browsing Ezra's book collection.

"Are those your parents?" Byron asked in astonishment.

At this question, both of Ezra's parents looked up and towards Byron.

"Yeah, they are," I said hurriedly. "And you really need to go." I began pushing Byron out of the doorway to Ezra's apartment and back into the hallway.

"No, wait." Byron stopped me. "I want to meet them."

Ezra and I shared a look of terror at the thought of Byron and his parents in the same room, yelling at the two of us for our relationship.

"Now really isn't the time or day." Ezra glanced back at his parents before turning to Byron again.

"Why not? Ezra, I want to meet them." The look Byron was giving Ezra was daring him to say no.

"What is taking him so long? He said he just needed to ask a quick question." I heard a voice say from the corner of the hall.

I looked up to see Mike walking towards the apartment with Ella in tow, both with frustrated looks on their faces.

"Found Aria." Mike announced, as soon as he spotted me.

"What are all of you doing here?" I asked, exasperated.

What the hell was this? A _family-get-together?_ A _let's meet the family and bond over what we think about Aria and Ezra's relationship?_

"Well we were on our way to dinner, but we wanted you to come along. We thought you'd be here." Ella explained.

"I-We don't have time for this." I said quickly. "Mom, Ezra's parents are here." I explained.

"Oh!" Ella glanced at Ezra.

"Do they know..." Ella trailed off.

"Yeah. They know everything." Ezra answered her unfinished question.

"And they hate me. They keep saying I ruined Ezra's life." I said quietly.

"Aria, you know that's not true." Ezra said softly, as he tucked a stray piece of hair behind my ear. "You know that I love you."

"I know... But they're your parents, their opinion matters too..." I said quietly, as I looked up at him.

"Aria..." Ezra began.

"If they hate me as much as it sounds like they do, they'll do everything in their power to make you realize that we were a mistake." I said quietly, as I felt my eyes begin to water.

Despite my parents and Mike standing beside us, Ezra moved closer to me and placed his hands on either side of my face. "Aria, we both know that this isn't a mistake." He never broke eye contact with me as he continued. "We've already had family tell us this is wrong and that it's not going to work out. Your father tried everything he could to make you realize that our relationship meant nothing to me." He said to me as I watched him with teary eyes. Ezra suddenly glanced at Byron and said, "No offense," before turning back to me. "But here we are, and he's beginning to accept us," Ezra said in a quieter tone.

"So let's go back in there, and do what we did with your parents. Make them realize just how much we love each other and just how right this is." Ezra finished.

How did he always know the right words to say to make me feel better?

I wrapped my arms around his neck as I pulled him down to my height before kissing him, not caring that my family was standing beside us. He moved his hands down to my waist as he held me against him as he kissed me softly.

"Hey, we're still here." Mike reminded us, as if a cue to Ezra and I to stop acting too much like a couple.

Ezra pulled away from my mouth before smiling at Mike.

"Are you ready to go back in there?" Ezra took my hand in his as he waited for my response.

I took a deep breath and nodded, before turning to my family.

"Are you coming?" I asked.

I followed Ezra back inside the apartment, with my whole family behind me.

William looked up as he heard more voices, but as soon as he saw me, his tired face hardened and he looked at me with anger and annoyance.

As I glanced back at Ezra, I remembered exactly why I needed to face his parents. I needed them to realize how much I loved their son. That we are perfect together. That we were meant to be together.

**So I have to admit, I'm loving these fluffy Ezria scenes we've had the past three episodes, but one scene per episode? I need more… I love how Ezra had more screen time than Aria last night. That Ella/Ezra scene at the coffee place… oh my goodness, the way that Ella and Ezra were looking at each other makes me think Ella's beginning to crush on Ezra! I just can't get over the way they were looking at each other! Oh goodness… **

**Anyways, PLEASE REVIEW! **


	28. Chapter 28

**Thank you so much for your reviews! : Guest, LAXGRL4EVA, nightmares,and,dreamers, florencebisson, wantstowriteforyou, ezriaFTW, msbookworm93, Notinyourlifetimehoney, HarrylovesGinny09, hiding,my,heart, livelaughluv9676, CheyeM1287, thecandygirl1, jills, LauralovesPLL, Guest, and xTwilightSparklesx! **

**Aria's POV**

"You're Aria's family?" Dianne asked as Ella, Byron, and Mike, followed Ezra and I back into the apartment.

"Yes," Ella replied. "I understand that you don't approve of your son's relationship with my daughter."

"And you do?" William asked incredulously, standing up from his chair. "May I remind you that she was his student?"

I looked down to the ground as nervousness coursed throughout my veins. Was Ezra's father going to convince Ella that my relationship with Ezra was wrong? Ella was the first and only person who has accepted us. I couldn't lose that now. Not when Byron still hated Ezra for being with me. I couldn't lose Ella's support. I just couldn't.

"I'm fully aware of that. However, they began seeing each other before they knew they were teacher and student." Ella defended us.

I silently turned to Ezra, who's shocked expression mirrored mine. His eyes finally met mine as the look we exchanged asked the same question: Was Ella really doing everything she could to get Ezra's parents to see that our relationship was right?

Byron stood a few feet away from Ella, his lips pursed in a straight line, as he remained silent. I prayed that he wouldn't say anything, because I knew that if he did, he would try doing the complete opposite of Ella: convince Ezra's parents that

our relationship was wrong.

"Yet they continued this relationship." Dianne pointed out, inserting herself into the conversation. "You're okay with the your daughter dating her teacher?"

"He's not her teacher anymore. And surprisingly, yes, I am." Ella admitted.

"Don't you know better than to get involved with a student?" Dianne asked Ezra, her voice full of disbelief. "I don't care how much you try to defend this, because it's wrong. Don't you care what people are going to think of you? You're going to be known as the teacher who fools around with his teenage students! You said yourself that this was a small town. Everyone knows everyone. Is that the kind of reputation you want for yourself?"

Ezra held his mother's crushing gaze before finally responding moments later. "I don't care."

"You couldn't have put yourself in a worse situation. Why couldn't you just control your feelings for her? They're wrong and you know it." William interfered.

"I-" Ezra began, but I interrupted him.

"We've already gone over this. I didn't want him to control his feelings for me, because I had the same feelings for him." I began. I took a step closer to Ezra's father. "If I really am not supposed to be with Ezra, then our relationship would have fallen apart for good when I lost my memory. That was Ezra's chance to leave me without hurting me, because I had no idea who he was. But he didn't. He chose to stay with me and help me remember him. How do you think it was for him? Being in love with someone who didn't even know who he was? Being in love with someone who only knew him as her English teacher? Our relationship survived me forgetting everything about him, and I recovered my memories to only fall in love with him all over again. So don't tell Ezra or me, that this is wrong. Because if it truly was wrong, Ezra and I would have been over a long time ago." I finished.

The room remained dead silent, each person shocked by my sudden speech.

I nervously looked towards Ezra, who was watching me in awe.

"God, I love you." He breathed, never taking his eyes off of me.

I smiled at him, knowing that I had done the right thing. It didn't matter if his parents accepted our relationship or not. We loved each other and that was all that mattered.

After a few moments of silence, Byron said the last words I ever expected to come out of his mouth. "She's right." He said softly, watching me intently.

Ezra, Ella, and I turned to Byron with shock written all over our faces. He said I was right? As in he agreed that our relationship was right? Even though it screamed wrong?

Was he really finally coming around to accepting our relationship? Was he finally realizing how much Ezra and I loved each other?

Byron sighed heavily as he sat down on Ezra's couch and looked towards Ezra's parents. "Trust me, when I found out about this relationship, I was furious. It was wrong, a teacher falling in love with his student, or claiming to fall in love. I didn't care how much Aria tried to convince me that whatever they claimed to have with each other was real, because it was wrong. I tried everything I could to make Aria realize that Ezra didn't care for her. It made sense, what would a teacher want from his teenage student? A real relationship?" Byron scoffed.

"Dad stop!" I cried, not wanting him to go on. Why would he do this to me? Hasn't he realized by now how much Ezra means to me? Why was he still doing everything he could to tear us apart?

"Please." I begged.

"Aria, let me finish." He said strictly.

"Why?" I exclaimed. "So you can convince Ezra's parents that our relationship is wrong? In case you haven't realized it yet," I began, taking Ezra's hand in mine and holding it tightly in my own, "We don't care what you or anyone else thinks. The only people whose opinions matter are mine and Ezra's."

"Aria, stop talking and let me finish." Byron said through gritted teeth.

I glared at him for a moment before turning back to Ezra who wrapped his arms around me.

"As I was saying," Byron continued tiredly. "There was no way that this could be right. But then I began to realize the things that I hadn't noticed before. If Ezra didn't love Aria, why would he risk his whole career for her? Why would he risk going to jail if he didn't have true feelings for her?"

I looked at my dad in shock and guilt. Was he saying what I thought he was saying?

"Like Aria said before, if their relationship wasn't supposed to work out, then Aria never would have regained her memories of him. He wouldn't have stuck with her and tried to stay close to her even though she didn't care about him. They love each other. I've tried very hard to break them up, but nothing works. I know whatever I do to try to stop them from seeing each other won't work, because they'll find a way to see each other again." Byron ran his tiredly down his face. "Honestly, as much as I hate to admit it, there's nothing we can do to break them up. The only thing we can do is to try to see their relationship the way they see it."

"Daddy…" I whispered as my eyes began to well up with tears from his heart striking words.

"I don't want to lose you. And I know that I will if I continue trying to tear the two of you apart." Byron said painfully.

At that moment, I saw the father I had grown up to know and love. The father who would never let anything happen to his little girl. The father who protected his daughter from everything and everyone. The father who loved his daughter unconditionally.

I threw my arms around his neck, as the few tears that had managed to escape my eyes fell onto his shirt. He wrapped his arms tightly around my back, as memories of when I was younger and melting into my father's embrace flooded through my mind. I had to admit, that even though I wasn't being held in Ezra's arms, I felt at home.

"Thank you." I whispered.

Byron smiled. A genuine smile. The first real smile I had seen in weeks.

"But I still stand by what I said earlier." Byron began, looking at Ezra. "If you ever hurt her, you'll deeply regret it."

Ezra nodded, believing every word Byron said.

I turned towards Ezra, who smiled at me, happy that we finally gained both my parents' acceptance.

"Well I definitely wasn't expecting that, especially from the person who Aria said supposedly doesn't accept your relationship, but I see where the two of you are coming from. I am going to have a fun time getting to know your girlfriend." Derek winked at me before Ezra shot him a glare.

"You aren't allowed to touch her." Ezra said to his younger brother, as he stood in front of me, blocking me from Derek's view.

"Says who?" Derek raised his eyebrows at Ezra.

"Says me, her boyfriend." Ezra countered back.

I giggled as I watched the two brothers playfully quarrel with each other over me.

I glanced at Mike who was smiling at Ezra and Derek, clearly entertained by his ex English teacher arguing with his brother.

Could Ezra be a better boyfriend? He was even overprotective of me from his own brother.

"We'd better get going then, if we're lucky we might still make our reservation." Ella said, grabbing her purse.

"Good, because I'm starving." Mike exclaimed eagerly.

"Would you guys like to join us?" Byron asked, as he got up from the couch.

Dianne and William shared an uneasy glance before turning back to Byron.

"I guess it would be nice to get to know Aria's parents. I'm sure we'll all be family soon enough."

Both mine and Ezra's mouths dropped wide open at her comment.

"As much as I love her, she's seventeen. I do not see us getting married for at least four more years." Ezra said quickly.

I titled my head up to look at him as I smiled, loving that our families were finally getting along. He leaned down and kissed me quickly before grabbing my hand.

"Let's go."

**Hope you guys liked this! Sorry for the long wait! There's one more chapter left in this story! PLEASE REVIEW! **


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